Huawei chief: 'U.S. cannot stop us'

June 17 (UPI) -- The chief executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei said the United States cannot stop the firm's commercial progress, despite sanctions.

Ren Zhengfei, 74, said Monday the pressure from the United States is no impediment to the company's growth, state-owned China Central Television reported.

Ren made the remarks during a conversation with U.S. tech experts George Gilder and Nicholas Negroponte, where he also suggested he was surprised by the actions of the Trump administration.

"What we didn't foresee was that the U.S. strategic determination to attack us would be so great and could be so unwavering," Ren said, according to CNN. "We also didn't foresee that the U.S. would strategically attack us on so many fronts."

Ren then said "U.S. policy will not stop Huawei from moving forward."

Huawei became the target of Washington's sanctions on May 16, when the Trump administration added Huawei to a blacklist banning U.S. firms from selling Huawei technology without first obtaining a U.S. government license.

Ren said the political pressure from the United States has not changed his mind about maintaining "friendly ties" with U.S. companies.

"Huawei's relationship with U.S. companies is very good," Ren said. "The recent series of complications reflect the perception of some U.S. politicians, and not the objective of U.S. businesses."

Ren also said the United States is a "powerful country" from which to learn, and that the world's largest economy has a very long history but can also make mistakes in a short period of time.

Washington has been pressuring allies to shut Huawei out of next-generation 5G wireless networks. Carriers in Britain and Japan have postponed the launch of Huawei smartphones.

Huawei expects revenue to be down by about $30 billion compared to forecasts, Ren said Monday.

Sales grew by about 20 percent in 2018, or $104 billion, according to CNN.