This chapter examines the international controversies surrounding Huawei Technologies, finding that most fears about this private firm are based on misunderstandings of its coevolution within the Chinese business and political environment, as well as unfounded suspicions about its employee ownership structure and alleged Chinese Communist Party control or military links. However, only further reform of the Chinese political ecosystem will help to reduce the international fear and sanctions on the firm.

Management transformation in the financial management area has contributed significantly to the competitiveness of Huawei. Four Standardizations was the first large-scale financial management transformation project implemented in the company from 1998 to 2007. In 2007, Huawei started a more ambitious Integrated Financial Services project with assistance from IBM consultants, which lasted until 2014. This chapter documents the background, motivation, activities and impacts of these two financial management transformation projects and discusses Huawei’s experience in successfully implementing management transformation in the financial area. It also highlights that Huawei’s employee ownership and financial management strategy with its own characteristics determine the focus of the financial management transformation projects.