[The Trigger Was a Single Screenshot… “Ren Zhengfei’s Family Disappeared”]

Unusual rumors surrounding Huawei, the symbol of China’s technological self-reliance, have continued for a week. The rumor alleges that founder Ren Zhengfei and his daughter, Vice Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, and CFO Meng Wanzhou, vanished simultaneously. As of the 19th, Huawei’s official website still lists Ren Zhengfei as a director and Meng Wanzhou as Vice Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, and CFO.

Furthermore, a high-profile criminal trial with Huawei as the defendant has begun in the US, and on the 24th, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit in Washington. Whether this is internet-generated rumor mill or something actually happened to Huawei’s top leadership cannot be definitively concluded, but conditions sufficient to amplify suspicion coincided all at once.

Taiwan’s Liberty Times reported on the 19th, “Seven days after rumors of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei’s family ‘fleeing’ emerged, the rumors have not disappeared as of the 11th, making it clear that a major event occurred at Huawei,” adding, “Given that Ren Zhengfei’s youngest daughter Annabel Yao recently made a sudden appearance on Weibo and did not deny her father’s flight rumors, there is a possibility her Weibo account is being managed by state security agencies, making it more likely that Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou were arrested rather than escaped.”

Rumors spread rapidly around the 11th via social media X. A screenshot claiming to be a conversation among Huawei insiders contained contents stating that Huawei Chairman Liang Hua could not contact Ren Zhengfei and tried reaching family members like Meng Wanzhou, but they were unreachable as well. Added to this was a claim that a van left Ren Zhengfei’s Shenzhen residence heading toward the coastal Dapeng Peninsula, generating the 'maritime escape theory.'

Subsequently, as videos emerged claiming armed police gathered around Huawei’s Shenzhen headquarters, the narrative escalated from ‘family escape rumor’ to ‘authority detention rumor,’ and ultimately to ‘Xi Jinping purge rumor.’ However, the author and authenticity of the chat screenshot remain unverified to date, and no independent evidence has been presented showing that the van movement or armed police video were related to Ren Zhengfei’s family.

[But the Youngest Daughter Showed Up in Beijing]

It was Ren Zhengfei’s youngest daughter, Annabel Yao, who cast decisive doubt on the initial rumor. Annabel Yao appeared at a public event in Beijing on the 14th and reportedly posted event photos on her Weibo. Therefore, the initial claim that 'Ren Zhengfei’s entire family of over 10 people cut off contact and fled China' became hard to accept at least literally.

There are also reports that Ren Zhengfei continued external activities until recently. Hence, it is difficult to conclude detention or escape simply because someone was not seen in public for a certain period. In particular, one must consider that the 81-year-old founder is no longer someone who appears on the front lines of daily management every day.

[Then Why Don't the Rumors Stop?]

The problem starts here. Although Annabel Yao’s appearance dealt a heavy blow to the ‘entire family escape theory,’ the two key subjects of the rumor, Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou, have not personally appeared in public. More importantly, there are currently no signs of abnormality in the official corporate governance structure. In the board of directors list published by Huawei as of the 19th, Liang Hua is listed as Chairman, and Eric Xu, Meng Wanzhou, and Wang Tao as Vice Chairs. Ren Zhengfei also remains on the director list. Meng Wanzhou’s official profile also currently lists her as Vice Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, and CFO.

Therefore, based solely on currently public data, there is no ground to judge that ‘Xi Jinping purged Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou.’ There is no announcement that the two were removed from official positions, nor are there credible confirmed reports that Chinese authorities are investigating them. However, as the parties' public actions remain unconfirmed and no explanations have come from Huawei or Chinese authorities, various speculations are filling the information vacuum.

[Huawei is Doing Fine… In Fact, Making a Strategic Bet on AI Semiconductors]

There is another point to watch closely. Contrary to rumors surrounding Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou personally, no movements suggesting management paralysis are appearing within the Huawei company itself. Huawei unveiled new AI semiconductor and large-scale AI computing system plans at the HUAWEI CONNECT event held in Shanghai on the 17th.

Specifically, Huawei is attempting to overcome single-chip performance gaps with US Nvidia by connecting systems on a massive scale. It is also pushing a new computing structure that connects up to 1 million processors into a single system. This signifies that amid restricted access to Nvidia chips due to US advanced AI semiconductor export controls, Huawei is becoming even more crucial as a core pillar of China’s AI and semiconductor self-reliance.

At least looking at company-level moves, no signs are confirmed to suggest that ‘all of Huawei has been paralyzed by authority purges or investigations.’ Rather, it is putting forward aggressive roadmaps aimed at building China’s own AI ecosystem while breaking through US tech restrictions.

[But Why Now? A '20 Years of Huawei' Trial Opens in New York]

Why, then, did such rumors explode at this specific time? One of the most important backgrounds is the Huawei criminal trial that began in the US. According to Reuters, in the trial that began with jury selection on the 8th at the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York, US prosecutors claim that Huawei improperly acquired trade secrets from US companies over a long period and used the financial system to conceal its Iran business. Charges applied include bank fraud, sanctions violations, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and trade secret theft.

Reuters noted, “In opening statements on the 9th, US prosecutors defined Huawei as a so-called ‘criminal enterprise’ that grew by stealing technology from US companies over a long period and covering it up,” adding, “Prosecution claimed Huawei improperly acquired technology from US companies like Cisco and T-Mobile, whereas Huawei defense counsel countered that the government selectively bundled legitimate corporate activities and actions of a few employees to portray the entire company as a criminal organization.” The trial is expected to last about 3 months.

In particular, Meng Wanzhou is historically tied directly to this case. She was arrested in Vancouver, Canada, in 2018 at the request of the US regarding Huawei’s Iran transactions, and returned to China in 2021 after signing a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice. In this trial as well, issues between Meng Wanzhou and HSBC at the time and her past statements are expected to be presented as evidence.

Therefore, at the very moment a trial exposing Huawei’s past 20 years of business in court began, rumors of Meng Wanzhou’s ‘disappearance’ overlapped, spreading speculation among overseas Chinese communities attempting to link the two events. However, no credible evidence supporting claims that Chinese authorities detained Meng Wanzhou out of concern over the US trial has been confirmed to date.

[Xi Jinping Visits US on 24th… Huawei in the Crosshairs of US-China Tech War]

The timing is even more delicate. President Trump and President Xi Jinping will hold their second summit of the year on the 24th in Washington. According to Reuters, trade and tariffs, Taiwan, and Iran issues, as well as artificial intelligence and advanced technology issues, are expected to be included as major agenda items in this summit. The White House is preparing President Xi’s state visit, and plans are being drawn up for President Trump to personally greet President Xi at Joint Base Andrews.

And right in the middle of this US-China tech war sits Huawei. Developing its own Ascend AI chips despite US advanced semiconductor restrictions, Huawei has now transcended being a mere telecom equipment firm to become a company symbolizing China’s technological self-reliance strategy. The fact that ‘disappearance rumors’ surrounding the founder and CFO of such a company spread right before the summit has drawn attention beyond ordinary corporate executive movements.

[Then, Is the ‘Xi Jinping Purge Theory’ Plausible?]

Based solely on publicly available evidence so far, there is no ground to judge it as such. Reports showed Ren Zhengfei’s youngest daughter engaged in public activities in Beijing, and Huawei hosted a large-scale tech event in Shanghai. Most importantly, Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou remain listed on Huawei’s official governance structure. Thus, the conclusion based on data verifiable as of the 19th is that ‘the collective escape theory is unconfirmed, and the detention/purge theory is likewise unconfirmed.’

[Why Times Insight]

What really warrants attention in this incident is not the rumor itself that ‘Ren Zhengfei’s family fled China.’ A significant part of the initial claim was shaken by reports of Annabel Yao’s appearance in Beijing. Huawei is also continuing normal business operations by announcing a new AI semiconductor roadmap in Shanghai. Names of Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou also remain in current official corporate governance structures. Thus, at this stage, there is no ground to view Xi Jinping’s ‘Huawei purge’ as fact.

Nevertheless, suspicions are not subsiding because the current public actions of Huawei’s two symbolic figures, Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou, are not clearly confirmed. On top of this, a major criminal trial targeting Huawei’s past business has begun in the US, and just a few days later, Trump and Xi Jinping will sit face-to-face over US-China tech hegemony issues including AI and semiconductors.

Ultimately, what is needed now is not another anonymous social media screenshot. Whether Ren Zhengfei and Meng Wanzhou personally make public appearances, and whether changes appear in their official positions within Huawei, will be the most critical criteria determining the truth of this mystery.

Until then, ‘escape,’ ‘detention,’ and ‘purge’ all remain unconfirmed hypotheses. However, why such a massive rumor spread in an instant surrounding Huawei—the symbol of China’s semiconductor and AI self-reliance—and why the information vacuum continues in the absence of official explanations from Huawei and Chinese authorities, is a noteworthy aspect in itself.