Contrary to what is stated in many comments here, there is no loan to Huawei. The loan is to the customers of Huawei, the telecom operators. Here is how it works: Huawei sells equipment to the telecom operator. The Chinese Development Bank pays Huawei. The telecom operator pays back the loan to the Chinese Development Bank over many years at very favorable conditions. Telecom operators absolutely love this setup as they can buy equipment without putting cash on the table. This is a huge competitive advantage for Huawei, and it explains why Huawei has grown to be the #2 telecom vendor in the world (behind Ericsson) in a matter of years. None of the western vendors (Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Cisco) can give similar financing conditions to the operators, and this is going to very effectively kill the European and North-American competitors of Huawei.
Have a look outside your borders and check out education level. Some of the countries in Europe with the highest education level also have strong unions. I am not saying there is a causal effect (I don't think so actually), but at least it disproves your statement.
Every country, including the USA, has its limits to 'freedom of expression'. I will not try to burn a US flag next time I find myself in a US airport (and do not tell me that will not land me in jail - although it would probably be called disturbance of order, or whatever the correct legal term is). However, North-American and European countries typically have a very sound and broad interpretation of this freedom. I respect the US for the way they are trying to deal with their complex issues on freedom, races, immigration, religion, etc. I demand equal respect for the way European countries, like Germany, are dealing with their sensitivities while trying to guarantee a maximum amount of freedom and democracy.
Just to be clear where this is coming from, I'm Belgian.
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Contrary to what is stated in many comments here, there is no loan to Huawei. The loan is to the customers of Huawei, the telecom operators. Here is how it works: Huawei sells equipment to the telecom operator. The Chinese Development Bank pays Huawei. The telecom operator pays back the loan to the Chinese Development Bank over many years at very favorable conditions. Telecom operators absolutely love this setup as they can buy equipment without putting cash on the table. This is a huge competitive advantage for Huawei, and it explains why Huawei has grown to be the #2 telecom vendor in the world (behind Ericsson) in a matter of years. None of the western vendors (Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Cisco) can give similar financing conditions to the operators, and this is going to very effectively kill the European and North-American competitors of Huawei.
I don't think this is correct. I work for a major telecoms equipment vendor. We definitely do sell into Cuba, and have billions of business in the US.
Have a look outside your borders and check out education level. Some of the countries in Europe with the highest education level also have strong unions. I am not saying there is a causal effect (I don't think so actually), but at least it disproves your statement.
Don't confuse the manufacturing cost of the wireless chip with what you pay for the router. 802.11g chips are around 8$ these days.
Every country, including the USA, has its limits to 'freedom of expression'. I will not try to burn a US flag next time I find myself in a US airport (and do not tell me that will not land me in jail - although it would probably be called disturbance of order, or whatever the correct legal term is). However, North-American and European countries typically have a very sound and broad interpretation of this freedom. I respect the US for the way they are trying to deal with their complex issues on freedom, races, immigration, religion, etc. I demand equal respect for the way European countries, like Germany, are dealing with their sensitivities while trying to guarantee a maximum amount of freedom and democracy.
Just to be clear where this is coming from, I'm Belgian.