Apple fan (and Huawei CEO) Ren Zhengfei pictured with an iPad

Ren Zhengfei has long expressed admiration for Apple, and Huawei’s CFO was found carrying an iPhone, iPad Pro and MacBook Air when she was arrested

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Xinmei Shen

Published: 2:12pm, 24 Oct 2019Updated: 2:12pm, 24 Oct 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

At first glance, it’s hard to tell why this picture is attracting so much attention on Weibo.

It shows a man opening his bag at an airport security line, while an officer holds an iPad. It’s a normal sight, until you recognise the man who the Apple device seemingly belongs to: Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei.

Huawei declined to comment, so we don't know for sure whether the device belonged to their CEO. But it wouldn’t be a surprise: Ren has previously admitted his love for Apple. And Huawei’s CFO, Ren’s daughter Meng Wanzhou, was carrying an iPhone 7, iPad Pro and MacBook Air when she was arrested in Canada.

At least the smartphone in the basket doesn’t appear to be an iPhone. (Picture: Weibo)

“My children prefer Apple products over Huawei’s. Does it mean that they don’t love Huawei? Of course not,” the CEO told Chinese media in May. “Huawei products are ultimately commodities. People use them if they like them.”

He further explained, “iPhone has a good ecosystem and when my family are abroad, I still buy them iPhones, so one can’t narrowly think love for Huawei should mean loving Huawei phones.”