Cape Town - Don’t stand in the way of a country’s right to climb the technology ladder.
These are the sentiments of Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in answers at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
The Chinese political season is heating up and I have arrived in a bitterly cold Beijing as a participant of the China Africa Press Centre, an annual media fellowship that hosts reporters from Africa for 10 months to experience and report on China.
While the US government’s ban of Huawei products in their federal agencies makes international headlines, China is amid the opening of its political year, known as the Two Sessions.
During the two-week period, the Great Hall of the People, on Tiananmen Square, hosts the opening of advisory body the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consulttive Conference and the law-making National People’s Congress (NPC).
Through precision-filled opening ceremonies, reports delivered by high-ranking officials and press conferences, China outlines everything from the Taiwan question, the 70th anniversary of communist China this year, the Belt and Road initiative that is driving infrastructure development along ancient trade routes and total poverty alleviation in the country by 2020. Space exploration is the next frontier. Female astronaut Wang Yaping said she will be working on the country’s first permanent manned space station, which will be built by 2022.
She is also among the celebrated politicians and has been elected as one of the 2980 NPC deputies.
Here, deputies are appointed from different sectors, including the military.
It’s a fascinating political system that draws on leaders of more than 50 ethnic groups across the large country to contribute to advisories and law-making in line with it’s communist principles.
China has also made it clear it will not retreat on its technology development goals. Huawei is intent on spreading its global footprint through phone and router manufacturing - plans which have been met with the ire of the Trump administration, which cites spying concerns.
But China is not holding back on tech development or tech consumption. Everywhere you look, Beijingers are immersed in their cellphones: watching videos and scanning QR codes to network and pay for groceries or transport.
Although there are internet restrictions - most major Google services are not accessible, but their are a plethora of Chinese alternatives - nothing is going to stop China, not even Donald Trump.
In a packed press conference, Yi spoke about Huawei’s decision to legally challenge the Trump administration.
“We will continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate and lawful interests of Chinese businesses and citizens.
“We support the company and individual in question in seeking legal redress to protect their own interests, and refusing to be victimised like silent lambs.
“Justice will have it’s day. What we are standing up for is not just the interests of the company, but also a country or a nation’s legitimate right to development and, by extension, the basic right of all countries who wish to climb up the technology ladder.
“We hope all parties will follow laws, overcome prejudice, create a level playing field for the businesses for all countries and provide a safe and reliable environment for the interaction of people of all nationalities,” said Yi.