A Better Connected Europe
—Speech by William Xu at the 2014 Huawei Innovation Day Europe
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon!
I would like to extend the warmest welcome to all of you for joining us here today.
Being in Europe again makes me feel at home. I worked in Europe between 2005 and 2008. During that time, I watched Huawei grow from a new market entrant into a trusted partner of major operators across the continent.
Today, our gathering in this beautiful city of Milan holds its extra significance, as Italy was the origin of trade between China and Europe. The "Silk Road" closely connected these two great ancient civilizations over 2,000 years ago. Friendly exchanges through envoys such as Marco Polo, Matteo Ricci, and Giuseppe Castiglione opened the door between China and Europe. These exchanges promoted strong economic ties and communication between the East and the West. They built the foundation for globalization and our close relationship today.
We now embrace a new era of global innovation, powered by far-reaching connectivity. Today, there are more than two billion mobile broadband subscribers and 12 billion connections worldwide. Connectivity has become the new norm and the new infrastructure that modern society depends on to drive development - it has become as ubiquitous as electricity and roads in many parts of the world. To make this a reality in every part of the world is an active priority for us.The rapid development of ICT enables the high level of connectivity we see today, at the same time, this high level of connectivity further fuels the development of ICT, creating a positive cycle. Together, ICT is helping people shatter the limitations of time and space, creating a positive environment for innovation to flourish. Enhanced connectivity is improving the flow of information, talent, capital, technology, and products and goods, touching every corner of the globe. It allows us to fully mobilize global resources and knowledge to openly cooperate, conduct R&D, and create innovative products in an agile and efficient way. It also allows us to drive business development forward through globalized operations and close alignment with customers’ needs.
Over the past 27 years, Huawei has not only served as an ICT enabler, making basic connectivity a reality, but has also benefited from collaborative global ICT innovation. To take advantage of the unique talents, resources and experience in different countries, we have established 16 R&D centres around the world. Here in Europe, with its world-leading ICT ecosystem, high-caliber talent, unparalleled R&D capabilities, and open systems, Europe has become an innovation powerhouse. It has become a centre of expertise for Huawei.
Since entering the European market in 2000, Huawei has worked to integrate itself into the local ecosystem. Today, we partner with Europe’s top-20 carriers and we have hired over 7,000 local employees. We expect to hire an additional 5,500 (five thousand, five hundred) over the next five years. We are honored to participate in microwave development here in Milan, which is home to the world's most complete microwave technology industry value chain. In London, we have set up the Financial Risk Control Centre (FRCC) to manage global financial risks and ensure that our financial operations remain standard-compliant, secure and efficient. Our European logistics centre in Hungary provides services across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Our research operations in Germany, France and the Nordics are fundamental to our success too.
Innovation requires robust systems and long-term investments in basic technologies. Continuous, customer-centric innovation is the cornerstone of Huawei's long-term development. We attach equal importance to application and product innovations and basic technological innovations. By cooperating openly with the ICT industry, businesses and academia in Europe, we have made a range of innovative breakthroughs. Our distributed 3G base station has radically changed how base stations are constructed. It has become a standard for European carriers. Our SingleRAN network creates enormous value for our European customers, thanks to our innovative approach to mathematics, algorithms, optical components, and chips. As a major advocate of the EU's 5G programs and the sponsor of the 5G Innovation Centre in the UK, Huawei is leading the development of the 5G standards ecosystem.
We are pleased to see that the Europe 2020 strategy puts "Innovation Unions" as the first priority among the seven flagship initiatives to help the EU reach its development goals over the next decade. Innovation unions will definitely energize and accelerate the progress of the digital society in Europe. Huawei is honoured to continue playing a key role in helping Europe move ahead.
Every day, everything on the planet becomes more closely connected. When people and people, people and things, and things and things are better connected, innovation will be unleashed to create infinite possibilities, which will open up enormous business opportunities and deliver amazing experiences for us all.
At Huawei, it is our hope that connectivity will become as natural to our lives as air and water, becoming so ubiquitous that we will not even think about its very existence.
With that vision in mind, I hope you find Huawei’s 2014 Innovation Day insightful and interesting!
Thank you!