Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei is seeking to bring leading international experts to the company’s Shanghai campus to gain an early advantage in 6G development.
Speaking at an internal meeting, Ren described Huawei’s Qingpu campus in Shanghai as “beautiful and suitable for foreigners,” adding that if “700 or 800 foreign scientists” worked there, they would not feel they were in a foreign country. His comments underscore Huawei’s intention to build a diverse research community to accelerate next-generation network innovation.
China already leads in 6G patent filings. Analysis of roughly 38,000 patents related to 6G indicates about 35 percent (13,449) originated in China, while the United States accounted for roughly 18 percent. National authorities and major firms alike are highlighting these patent positions as strategic advantages.
“Our study of 6G is to take precautions and seize the patent position,” Ren said. “We must not wait until 6G is really useful, as we are then constrained by a lack of patents.” His remarks reflect a broader industry focus on securing intellectual property early in the technology’s life cycle.
A formal international standard for 6G is not expected until late this decade, but global powers and companies are already competing to shape the technology and avoid concentrated dominance by any single country. Unlike 5G, whose primary gains were reduced latency and faster speeds, 6G is anticipated to integrate terrestrial, satellite, and deep-sea networks—providing continuous connectivity from underwater environments up through space.
Huawei has faced substantial headwinds from US sanctions, which have significantly affected its revenues. In August, the company reported a 30 percent decline in first-half 2021 revenue compared with the same period the previous year. At the time, Huawei Chairman Eric Xu summarized the company’s stance: “We’ve set our strategic goals for the next five years, our aim is to survive, and to do so sustainably.”
To attract international talent despite those challenges, Ren said Huawei will offer salaries and compensation levels comparable to US counterparts. “The company is in a critical period of strategic survival and development and must have talent to compete,” he said, emphasizing that recruiting top researchers is essential to Huawei’s long-term competitiveness in advanced networks.
(Photo by Sebastian Knoll on Unsplash)
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