Huawei executives said they were confident that the Chinese telecommunications equipment company would eventually make huge strides in the US market, even though security concerns have persistently frustrated the company’s momentum there.

华为(Huawei)高管表示，他们有信心认为，这家中国电信设备制造商最终会在美国市场取得重大进展，尽管美方的国家安全担忧导致该公司在美国市场一再受挫。

The Chinese group has recently met with objections in Washington to talks over a potential equipment deal with Sprint Nextel, the US telecommunications carrier.

这家中国集团与美国电信运营商Sprint Nextel有关一宗潜在设备交易的谈判，最近在华盛顿遭遇反对。

In an interview with the Financial Times, Charlie Chen, Huawei’s senior vice-president for marketing in the US, said free market principles ensured that the group would work with a major US carrier, a goal that has remained elusive.

华为负责美国市场营销的高级副总裁陈朝晖(Charlie Chen)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，自由市场原则决定了该集团最终将与美国某家大型运营商合作，尽管这一目标至今仍难于实现。

“It may take a long time. It may take three or five or 10 years, it doesn’t matter, we’ll get there,” he said.

“这可能需要较长时间。可能需要3年、5年，甚至10年，这都没关系，我们一定会实现这个目标，”他表示。

Huawei said it had not officially been notified by Sprint whether speculation in Washington that the Chinese company was no longer in contention for a major equipment contract because of US security concerns was accurate.

目前华盛顿有传言称，出于美国的国家安全担忧，华为已不再是一笔重大设备合同的考虑对象。对于这一传言是否属实，华为表示尚未接到Sprint方面的正式通知。

Sprint declined to comment on the status of the deliberations, but according to an official in President Obama’s administration, Dan Hesse, the company’s chief executive, was approached by Gary Locke, commerce secretary, this month about the government’s concerns about a potential deal between Huawei and Sprint.

Sprint拒绝就其考虑的进展情况置评，但奥巴马政府的一名官员表示，美国商务部长骆家辉(Gary Locke)本月联系了Sprint首席执行官丹•赫瑟(Dan Hesse)，表明政府对华为与Sprint一宗潜在交易的担忧。

Losing out on a major equipment bid would represent the last in a series of defeats for the company, which in effect was blocked from acquiring 3Com in 2007 and this year lost bids for a unit of Motorola and a company called TwoWire. People familiar with the deals said concerns about the political fall-out of the transactions and security concerns in Washington played a role in each.

在一项重大设备投标中出局，将标志着华为一系列受挫的最新一例。该公司在2007年实际上被阻止收购3Com，今年又竞购摩托罗拉(Motorola)旗下一个部门和TwoWire公司未成。熟悉这些交易的人士表示，对这些交易的政治冲击波的担忧，以及华盛顿的国家安全担忧，在每宗交易中都扮演了角色。

Bill Plummer, a Washington-based Huawei executive, insisted that US security agencies were chiefly concerned by cybersecurity issues in general and not about Huawei specifically.

常驻华盛顿的华为高管比尔•普拉默(Bill Plummer)坚称，美国安全部门主要是从总体上担心网络安全问题，而不是专门针对华为。

“The interdependence of the supply chain is just now beginning to be understood in this town,” Mr Plummer said, pointing to the fact that even US companies are manufacturing all of their equipment in China and other countries.

“对于该行业供应链的相互依赖性，华盛顿刚刚开始理解，”普拉默表示。他指出，即便是美国企业供应的设备，也全部是在中国和其它国家制造的。

But that view is not necessarily shared by security officials. One person close to the Sprint talks said the fact that other equipment makers also manufacture products in China would not help US officials overcome their resistance to Huawei because there was a lack of trust about the company’s intentions.

但安全官员们未必认同这种观点。一名接近Sprint谈判的人士表示，其它设备制造商也在中国制造产品这一事实，不会推动美国官员们克服自己对华为的抗拒，因为他们不信任该公司的意图。

In the face of another potential upset, Huawei said US customers were the ultimate losers.

面对又一次潜在失败，华为表示美国顾客是最终的输家。

“We have no visibility into Sprint’s decision making process, if some non-commercial factor comes into play it is really truly to the detriment of competition in the US, and US jobs and US livelihood,” said Mr Plummer.

“我们看不到Sprint的决策过程，如果某些非商业的因素掺和进来，那真的对美国竞争、美国就业和美国生活不利，”普拉默表示。