Huawei founder says China tech sector in danger

Yesterday, Chinese social media was abuzz with apparent leaks from the speeches given by private business leaders at Monday's private sector symposium chaired by Xi Jinping.

• Most of the leaked speeches were a cheery affair, focusing on company achievements, business plans, and contributions to the national economy.

But Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei, delivered an epic warning: The next five years is a "window of life and death" for China's tech sector.

Ren acknowledged the sectors' successes, but described them as "superficial":

• "Private enterprises must become the makers of global technology standards."
• "Private enterprises must strengthen core technology research…to meet the challenges of global technology competition."

Geopolitical risks have forced Ren to shift from being a strong proponent of globalization to supporting localization:

• "Huawei is…rebuilding the ecosystem in key areas such as semiconductors and enterprise software."
• "Huawei’s investments in any country must…build a community of shared interests to guard against political risks."

Big caveat: We cannot verify the accuracy of these speeches.

Get smart: If true, Ren's comments will motivate Beijing to double down on accelerating indigenous innovation and cutting reliance on foreign technologies.

• That means more support for Chinese tech companies is likely in the pipeline.