One by one the doors closed. Over the past 18 months, top US universities including Princeton, Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley have rethought their research ties with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies.
Partnerships were cancelled, cheques refused and moratoriums put on new contracts after US officials raised the alarm about potential national security concerns and federal investigations into intellectual property theft and sanctions violations.
The universities’ actions were in response to claims from US lawmakers and officials that the company’s products could expose networks to Chinese spying or disruption.
But just as these American partnerships were ending, Huawei representatives were at work on the other side of the world, expanding company ties with researchers and universities in a country closer to home.
In Russia, where building science and technology partnerships with China is a new top priority, Huawei has embarked on a flurry of campus visits, grant offers and joint agreements to work with institutes of higher education.
The company wants to enlist universities for research in areas ranging from artificial intelligence and data processing to optical technology and cloud networks, and is finding eager allies as the United States and China compete for future artificial intelligence and tech dominance.
Observers and researchers say the relationship has the potential to play to each partner’s strengths.
