MORRISVILLE – Lenovo is taking heat in Chinese social media – again – after executives said Thursday they were prepared to move production to other countries in the event tariffs against products made in China are implemented as threatened by the Trump Administration.
“No more two-face,” said the most-liked comment at Weibo, according to Chinese media.
“That’s great.”
Critics said the comments from CFO Wai Ming Wong to CNBC and news noted in China’s quarterly financial results showed that the firm was “admitting that it was never a true Chinese multinational company.”
“We obviously are well-prepared in the event that it happens,” Ming told CNBC in reference to the tariffs.
Lenovo revenues soar 12% to record high; CEO wants US, China to settle trade issues
“We have definitely the ability to shift some of the production … from the impacted countries like China to the countries where we can continue to without, I think, without having the impact of the tariffs.”
Earlier, CEO and Chair Yang Yuanqing made similar comments.
“We definitely don’t want to see this situation,” Yang told Reuters. “We’ve always said we wish the two governments can get the agreement as early as possible.”
Since Lenovo produces and sells products in a number of different countries, including the US, tariffs are not as big an issue as they are for other firms, according to the company. Yang also told Reuters that the company has contingency plans to move some production outside of China if the trade war worsens.
Yang also told Chinese media that the company will not branch out into semiconductors or operating system software as the trade environment worsens.
“Lenovo does not intend to develop operating systems or chips as globalisation remains an inevitable trend, therefore it is not necessary for a company to specialise in everything,” he said.
CNBC noted that Trump is threatening tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, including some consumer electronics.
Lenovo, the world’s No. 1 or N o. 2 PC seller depending on the source for statistics, manufactures PCs, servers and a wide variety of other gear in China and at other facilities around the world.
Lenovo recently was criticized after rumors circulated that it would stop selling gear to China tech giant Huawei, which is under intense pressure from the US. Lenovo denied the talk.
Lenovo operates dual headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville. Most of its operations are based in China where the company was launched.
