Huawei Plans to Expand its R&D Team in Russia

Huawei is expanding its research and development staff in Russia. The company is planning to recruit more than 500 employees by the end of the year raising that number to 1,500 in the next five years. The move will make Huawei’s Russian R&D team the third largest in Europe and North America.

Huawei already has two research centers in Russia, one in Moscow and one in Saint Petersburg, and plans to expand to three new locations. The company hopes to cooperate with the Russian scientific community, universities and research centers, but the specific areas of cooperation have not yet been announced.

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While Russia might not be on par with technological powerhouses like the US and China, Ren Zhengfei, CEO of Huawei, is very optimistic about the country’s potential, and the mathematical talent of the Russian people. In an official comment Ren, noted a young Russian scientist, who “only did mathematics, played computer every day for more than ten years in Huawei, did not know what he was doing, but eventually helped Huawei achieve a breakthrough with the introduction of 3G.”

The announcement is another new step by Huawei to mitigate the effects of the Sino-US trade war including the overall mistrust towards Chinese companies in the west. The Chinese telecommunications giant is turning towards its partners from the troubled BRICS alliance to ensure steady growth and access into new markets.

While Huawei is still banned from buying American components to manufacture new products without special licenses. The US Commerce Department made an agreement with the Chinese company allowing it to maintain existing telecommunications networks and to buy supplies from US companies in order to service existing customers. The agreement that was expected to expire on August 19 is expected to be extended, according to SCMP.