Fmr. Microsoft COO: China doesn't have the same values as we do
Former Microsoft Chief Operating Officer, Bob Herbold agrees with former CEO Steve Ballmer, that rules don’t apply to China when it comes to IP theft.
“I think Steve is correct. We were constantly after the Chinese to understand the value of software. I think they’ve made progress, but the fact is, it’s in their genes, the realization that these people don’t have the same values as we do,” he told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday.
Ballmer told FOX Business last year that China is ripping off Microsoft to the tune of $10 billion and the “U.S. government needs to do something.”
At midnight Friday the U.S. hiked tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent. President Trump tweeted early Friday that tariffs make the U.S. stronger. Shortly thereafter, China said it would retaliate.
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Microsoft has been doing business with China for more than 25 years, long before the tit-for-tat trade war exploded. Herbold believes that from a U.S. perspective “they’ve been talking too much.”
“The Chinese don’t want to lose face here, and consequentially, these conversations need to be much more private than they have been because this is a tough pill for the Chinese to swallow,” Herbold added.