美国国家公共电台 NPR Huawei Chairman Hopeful Google Can Influence U.S. Officials

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Turning to some news here in the U.S. on Huawei. Google has been quietly assuming the role of emissary for Huawei after the Chinese telecom company was blacklisted by the Trump¹ administration. Google is, in effect, negotiating with the Commerce Department on Huawei's behalf. That's according to a senior official at Huawei. NPR's Aarti Shahani has that story.

AARTI SHAHANI, BYLINE²: The fates of Huawei and Google are intertwined. Huawei is a leader in creating next-generation wireless³ networks, and it's the world's No. 2 maker⁴ of smartphones. Google provides support for Android, the popular operating system. The U.S. government ban against Huawei also blocks Google from giving security updates to millions of existing Huawei phones and from issuing Android licenses⁵ in the future. In an interview this week with Huawei chairman Liang Hua, NPR asked him how his company would resolve the problem of losing access to Google software.

LIANG HUA: (Through interpreter) Google is a very responsible company. We have maintained a very good cooperation with each other.

SHAHANI: He's speaking through a translator at Huawei headquarters in Shenzhen. When the ban first went into effect and Google announced it would cut ties, there was an outcry. Days later, the Trump administration said it would postpone⁶ parts of the ban until August. The outsized power of American tech giants is well-understood the world over. Huawei's Liang is now leaning on Google to influence the Department of Commerce on his company's behalf.

HUA: (Through interpreter) We really look forward to productive results from the communication that Google is currently having with the Commerce Department.

SHAHANI: Last month, citing national security concerns, the Trump administration added Huawei to a list of banned entities⁷. American companies, from mobile providers to chipmakers like Intel and Qualcomm, will not be allowed to do business with Huawei. That's because, according to U.S. officials, the company's technology could be used for surveillance. If a resolution isn't reached, Liang says, Huawei will have to build its own software, which would be difficult.

HUA: (Through interpreter) So we really hope that there were possible remedies coming out of the communication between Google and the Commerce Department. And we think that it is in the benefit of the consumers if they could work out a solution.

SHAHANI: Liang says he does not know the details of the talks. In an email, a Google spokesperson says the company is engaging with the Department of Commerce to ensure Google is in full compliance⁸ with the new rules. The company declined to say if its talks with the government had included directly or indirectly⁹ advocating for the ability to support future Huawei devices.

NPR interviewed several former senior officials at Commerce and the White House who are concerned that a private company, governed by its own self-interest, is advocating at this juncture¹⁰, where the foreign partner has been officially blacklisted for security concerns. Eric Hirschhorn says turning Huawei into a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war was a strategic mistake.

ERIC HIRSCHHORN: I spent a lot of time trying to make sure that national security and trade were kept separate.

SHAHANI: Hirschhorn served in the Department of Commerce during the Obama administration as under secretary for Industry and Security. According to former Commerce officials, it's standard for companies to reach out to the department about their ability to do business abroad. But the foreign partner is often at the table too, able to talk and be questioned.

Hirschhorn says that changes once the U.S. government decides to take enforcement action, as it did last month when it banned Huawei. Company financials should not be considered alongside national security decisions, he says. If Huawei gets what it wants vis a vis Google's effort, he says, that sends a very, very bad message to people who break American rules.

HIRSCHHORN: If I know that my government or my powerful business partner can basically fix a ticket if I get one, I won't worry about speeding.

SHAHANI: The Commerce Department says it routinely responds to inquiries¹¹ from companies about regulatory requirements. This is not new to this administration, nor do these discussions influence law enforcement actions.

Aarti Shahani, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SOULAR ORDER'S "KEYFRAMES")

KING: And we need to note that Google is a financial sponsor of NPR.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

6 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

7 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

8 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

9 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

10 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

11 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》