Huawei Secretly Supports Research Funding for US Universities Including Harvard

US Optical Society 'Optica' Research Conference Sponsorship
Foundation Keeps Sponsorship Confidential
Concerns Raised Over US Research Assets and Scientist Leakage

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, which is on the U.S. blacklist, has been secretly funding prestigious American universities and research institutions, including Harvard, Bloomberg reported on the 2nd (local time).

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to sources, Huawei has sponsored millions of dollars to research competitions organized by a foundation under Optica, a nonprofit society specializing in optics and photonics. Based on this research support, it has attracted hundreds of research proposals from major universities and scientists, including Harvard.

Internal documents obtained by Bloomberg reveal that Huawei joined Optica as a member company at the end of 2021 and promised to fund events for ten years, with the amount estimated to reach $10 million. Applicants to the research competition, university officials, and judges told Bloomberg, "We were unaware of Huawei's role and believed the funds came from the foundation." The confidential documents confirmed the phrase, "The Optica Foundation is not required to identify Huawei as a funding source or program sponsor of the competition, and the existence, content, and relationship between the parties of this agreement are considered confidential information."

A Huawei spokesperson explained, "The company and the Optica Foundation created this competition to support global research and promote academic communication," adding, "There was no ill intent; Huawei's name was simply not disclosed to avoid appearing as corporate promotion." Optica CEO Liz Logan stated in a press release, "Some foundation donors prefer anonymity," and defended, "Huawei's donation has been transparently conducted after review by external legal counsel and approval by the foundation's board of directors."

Bloomberg assessed this as "an incident revealing one of the strategies Huawei uses to establish itself as a key player in international research funding despite being on the U.S. government's blacklist." Huawei is a representative Chinese company subject to comprehensive U.S. regulations due to security concerns. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned Huawei's broadband internet services in the U.S. last month and is recently working with Congress to block certification of Chinese telecommunications companies' wireless equipment in the U.S.

Kevin Wolf, a partner at law firm Akin Gump specializing in export control policies, analyzed, "The U.S. Department of Commerce's regulations prohibiting technology sharing with Huawei are limited to science and technology for commercial use," adding, "The Optica Foundation's secretive funding method is highly likely to cleverly evade regulatory nets." Jeff Stoff, founder of CRSI, which protects U.S. research assets, pointed out, "Huawei can now view desired research projects without directly contracting with academic institutions," and warned, "In the future, they could use this competition to recruit researchers of interest or acquire intellectual research assets."