Huawei pledges commitment to Australia following NBN exclusion

Chinese infrastructure vendor Huawei and the Australian government appear to have settled their differences as Huawei reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market this week.

The firm’s chairwoman Sun Yafang met with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Beijing on Wednesday and told her that Huawei is looking forward to playing a role in promoting business and educational opportunities between China and Australia.

In March last year, it was reported that Huawei was told not to bid for any contracts relating to Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) project, reportedly due to security concerns harboured by the government over Huawei.

At the time, Gillard said that the decision to exclude Huawei was “prudent”. Although she did not refer to the Chinese vendor by name, she said that the Government was obliged to do its “utmost to protect [the NBN’s] integrity and that of the information carried on it.”

Now though, Huawei says it is working with Australia’s ICT industry and has established a local board of directors in Australia, which it claims has been a great success for the local business. Huawei Australia has grown from a company 20 staff in 2004 to over 700 staff today, the firm said, over 85 per cent of which are locals.

“Huawei is committed to forging long-term business, community and education partnerships that will benefit the Australian people and the economy,” said Sun.