Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is one of China’s largest success stories in tech.

No other domestic tech firm has been able to grow its business overseas around the world and beat the competition the way the Shenzhen-based company has, despite keeping a relatively low profile.

But over the past six months, Huawei has found itself increasingly in the limelight and under public scrutiny. After the arrest of one of its top executives in December and an escalating trade war, the Chinese telecoms company has become a symbol for both China’s technological rise and ambition -- and the threat that poses to Western countries like the US.

To take a closer look at the company -- at a more human-scale -- we decided to dive into the people and unique ‘wolf’ culture of Huawei, from its dark history of employee suicides to inspiring “war” stories, where company staff brave earthquakes and civil war to serve clients.

So what makes the company tick? How does it produce both die-hard loyalists and Huawei-haters? In this episode, we explore the following topics:

• Huawei’s management system and how it works
• Founder Ren Zhengfei’s influence on Huawei
• Militaristic Huawei slogans and sayings
• Company training and “boot camp”
• The trade-offs of a “wolf” culture

Host: Tom Xiong and Eva Xiao

Producer: Jacob Lovén

Guest: Shen Rui, an ex-Huawei employee who worked there 2011-2015

Digitally China is a subjective but independent depiction of the tech scene in China. Audio clips used in the podcast have not been distorted nor taken out of context and are included for commentary and educational purposes and thus shall be considered “Fair Use”. Digitally China is powered by RADII (www.radiichina.com), an independent media platform exploring China from all angles.

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