Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. When Huawei, the Chinese network equipment vendor, decided to take the initiative in addressing its image problems in the US, it chose this saying by former US president Abraham Lincoln to make a point.
“In recent years, misperceptions and rumours have been the shadow of Huawei, affecting Huawei’s reputation and, we believe, the United States government’s judgment of Huawei,” wrote Ken Hu, the company’s then vice-chairman in February 2011 in an open letter lamenting his company’s virtual exclusion from the US market for suspicions that it might be a national security threat.
Mr Hu then invited the US government to carry out “a formal investigation of any doubts it may have about Huawei in an effort to reach a clear and accurate conclusion”.