Huawei European Innovation Day 2018 was held on November 7 in Rome. Huawei Board Chairman Hua Liang attended the summit and delivered a keynote speech, sharing the value and contributions of Huawei in Europe. During his speech, he also discussed the importance of innovation to digitalization and intelligence, and how Huawei supports the ecosystem to build a fully connected, intelligent world.

Hua Liang explained that Huawei has been in Europe for 18 years. During this time, the company has grown and prospered with Europe. But Huawei’s work in Europe is about much more than just business. “Huawei’s focus is ICT infrastructure and smart devices,” he explained. “We contribute to digitalization in Europe, and help industries to prepare for the intelligent world”.

Speaking about Europe, Hua Liang noted that Huawei is collaborating with European enterprises in 4G, 5G, IoT, industrial wireless, cloud services, and edge computing. Huawei enables telecom operators to provide connectivity on a massive scale, with robust networks and innovation. In Italy, for example, Huawei supported Telecom Italia and Fastweb in launching one of the first 5G base stations using end-to-end 5G equipment that meets 3GPP standards.

Investment in R&D is an important part of Huawei’s strategy for success. Highlighting this point, Hua Liang added that this is especially true when it comes to continuous exploration and long-term investment in basic research and leading technology. “Each year, we invest between 15 billion and 20 billion US dollars in R&D,” he stated. “Between 20% and 30% of that amount is invested in basic research. This is all to promote more technological innovation.”

During his speech, Hua Liang also touched on the development of AI. He noted that AI is a major focus of innovation around the world right now. “People are calling AI the next general purpose technology, like electricity during the industrial revolution,” he explained. “There are enormous opportunities in this field. Huawei has been involved in AI for many years. We are engaged in basic research and application of AI, and we have released our own AI chips, providing full-stack all-scenario AI solutions”.

Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to be a strong supporter of digitalization, working alongside all nations in Europe to develop ICT infrastructure, enable shared success across the ecosystem, and help telecom operators and industries to go digital.

In Europe, Huawei’s ultimate goal is to provide customers with competitive ICT products, services, and solutions that are easy to integrate. Huawei is “in Europe, for Europe,” Hua Liang concluded. “Huawei will continue to trust in the power of tech innovation, and the power of openness and collaboration. By working together in a strong ecosystem, we can ensure shared success.”