This article was published on December 11, 2012

ZTE invests an extra $30m to boost R&D operations and infrastructure in the US


ZTE invests an extra $30m to boost R&D operations and infrastructure in the US

ZTE has announced today that it will invest a further $30 million dollars in the United States in a bid to work with more partners and develop techonologies related to the telecommunications industry.

The Chinese manufacturer hopes that this new injection of funds will help to improve and further integrate many of its existing technologies, as well as strengthen its lab capabilities and other infrastructure that is core to its business.

The result, the company says, should be better and more affordable choices for consumers “around the world”. The new investment in the U.S. market will also create more jobs, although exactly how many has not been specified.

The announcement follows a similar investment, worth $90 million, by Huawei to establish an R&D center in Helsinki. Lixin Cheng, CEO of ZTE USA, said today:

“ZTE is committed to the U.S. market and we look forward to continuing our investment and leveraging local talent to bring new innovations to consumers.

We have already established partnerships with major carriers in the U.S. and believe that these cross-border relationships will ignite the development of new communication technologies and enlarge the application scale of our joint innovations, thus helping us continue to provide affordable, environmentally friendly products that enable consumers around the world to connect in meaningful ways.”

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The Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer has been operating in North America since 1997, however in recent times the company has pushed hard to try and re-emphasize its influence there.

In the first half of 2012 alone, ZTE says it has reached a procurement sum of $14.68 billion in the United States. At the same time, it has set up five research and development centers, as well as an additional logistics center. Combined, the company, which produces telecommunications equipment, network solutions and devices, employs roughly 300 people in the United States.

Most U.S. consumers will recognise ZTE for its smartphone offerings, which while popular, have failed to generate the same kind of excitement or desire surrounding other Android device manufacturers, such as Samsung or HTC.

Just a couple of months ago, ZTE and fellow telecommunications equipment provider Huawei were criticised in a rather controversial report published by a US congressional intelligence committee. At the time, it recommended that companies and government departments avoid doing business with them due to national security concerns.

ZTE was quick to hit back at the findings though, issuing a statement which said it posed “no threat to US telecommunications infrastructure”. David Dai Shu, the Director of Global Public Affairs at ZTE, said at the time that if the committee was truly concerned about state influences, it should extend the remit of the report to all companies operating in China.

The additional investment today shows not only that ZTE is still operating in the United States, but that it sees the market as a vital location for future growth. For any of its partners – especially U.S. carriers – that may have been concerned by the report, these extra funds should help reassure them that the company is here to stay.

Image Credit: STR/AFP/GettyImages

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