Huawei has accused the US FedEx of diverting two parcels destined for it in China and is now reviewing its relationship with the shipping company
There is no respite for Huawei. After the minefield that the United States is weaving around it, now FedEx is also involved. According to the Chinese company, FedEx – which specializes in express shipping – diverted two of its packages destined for China and attempted to redirect two more sent from Vietnam to other locations of the tech giant. Huawei has announced that in the light of the incident it will review its relations with the US company, here are the details. THE ACCUSATION
According to reports from the Shenzen-based company, the four diverted packages contained only commercial documentation and “no technology”. Both diverted packets ended up in the United States. As proof, Huawei has also provided images of the shipment tracking to Reuters. At the moment the agency has not been able to verify its authenticity. PACKAGE DESTINATIONS
Besides the mistake made by a leading delivery company, the final destination of the packages is a bit surprising. Packages that left Hanoi on May 17, destined for Huawei’s Hong Kong and Singapore offices, were blocked after arriving at local FedEx stations in Hong Kong and Singapore on May 21 for a “delivery exception”.
According to the FedEx website, the “exception” status means that an unforeseen event prevents delivery of a package, such as a customs delay, a holiday or no one available to accept the delivery. But the other two packages sent respectively on May 19 and May 20 from Tokyo, destined for Huawei in China, ended up in Memphis, Tennessee, the headquarters of the US company. Precisely in the country that is giving the Chinese company a hard time, the latest is the ban on Huawei equipment imposed by the Trump administration. THE REACTION OF HUAWEI
Yet the giant of Chinese telecommunications has already run for cover. Huawei has already filed a complaint with the Chinese postal regulator who will investigate the facts. Not only that, the relationship with the shipping company is also at risk. “Recent experiences where important business documents shipped via FedEx did not arrive at their destination, and were instead either diverted, or required to be diverted, to FedEx in the US undermines our confidence. Now, as a direct consequence of these incidents, we will have to review our needs regarding logistics and document delivery, ”said Joe Kelly, Huawei spokesman. THE RESPONSE OF FEDEX
A FedEx spokesperson replied that the packages were diverted “by mistake” and denied that the US government or anyone else asked to send them somewhere else. She was “working directly” with the companies to return the packages to the right people. FedEx China today apologized via its Chinese social media account for the “mishandling” of Huawei packets and confirmed that there was no “outside pressure” to divert packets. AND THE TENSION RISES
Much ado about nothing then
Of course, and that Huawei’s reaction testifies to the pressure it is undergoing from the United States. After the trade ban imposed by Trump, the Chinese giant has already seen many of its most important partners in the United States, including Google, Broadcom, Qualcomm and Intel, abruptly terminate relations.
