Mahathir tours Huawei's Beijing Research Centre

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was given a first-hand look at Huawei's cutting-edge technology when he visited the company's Beijing Research Centre in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing today.

His arrival at the centre, about an hour’s drive from Beijing's central business district, was met by Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.

Huawei is the leading provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices, with integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices and cloud services.

In a statement, Huawei said Mahathir was briefed by Zhengfei and the company's technical experts on its latest business developments, as well as its 5G technology.

“The two (Mahathir and Zhengfei) spoke at length about how to leverage information and communications technology to better facilitate Malaysia's economic development and serve local communities,” it said.

Mahathir arrived in Beijing last night to begin his five-day working visit and to attend the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which begins tomorrow.

During the tour, the prime minister also experienced Huawei's cloud services, as well as industry applications spanning smart city, smart manufacturing and smart transportation.

Mahathir, who was accompanied by his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, also spoke with students from the company's Seeds for the Future programme, who were 4,300km away in Huawei's Malaysia office and at the Malaysia Global Training Centre, using the company's teleconferencing technology.

Zhengfei (photo) in the same statement expressed his thanks to the Malaysian government for supporting the company’s business development in Malaysia for the past 18 years.

“We stand ready to learn and address the government's needs and share our experience in ICT. We believe the widespread development of 5G will further boost the adoption of ICT digital technology in Malaysia,” he said.

Huawei began operating in Malaysia in 2001 and now has 11 shared service centres in the country, employing about 2,400 people.

Also present during the visit were Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin and International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking.

- Bernama