ZTE announces $30mln investment in U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net - ZTE has announced that it will invest a further $30 million in the United States in a bid to work with more partners and develop technologies related to the telecommunications industry, The Next Web reports.

The Chinese manufacturer hopes that this new injection of funds will help to improve and further integrate many of its existing technologies, as well as strengthen its lab capabilities and other infrastructure that is core to its business.

The result, the company says, should be better and more affordable choices for consumers “around the world”. The new investment in the U.S. market will also create more jobs, although exactly how many has not been specified.

The announcement follows a similar investment, worth $90 million, by Huawei to establish an R&D center in Helsinki.

The Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer has been operating in North America since 1997, however in recent times the company has pushed hard to try and re-emphasize its influence there.

In the first half of 2012 alone, ZTE says it has reached a procurement sum of $14.68 billion in the United States. At the same time, it has set up five research and development centers, as well as an additional logistics center. Combined, the company, which produces telecommunications equipment, network solutions and devices, employs roughly 300 people in the United States.

Just a couple of months ago, ZTE and fellow telecommunications equipment provider Huawei were criticized in a rather controversial report published by a U.S. congressional intelligence committee.

At the time, it recommended that companies and government departments avoid doing business with them due to national security concerns.

ZTE was quick to hit back at the findings though, issuing a statement which said it posed “no threat to U.S. telecommunications infrastructure”.