ZTE Says It Will Participate in MWC 2020 Following Reports of Cancellation

After report of ZTE cancelling a press conference at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese tech major clarified that it will still have booth space at the show and that its participation in the event will go "as planned".

"With the theme of 'Towards 5G Business Success', ZTE will participate in MWC20 Barcelona as planned, showcasing comprehensive #5G end-to-end solutions and a wide variety of 5G devices," ZTE said in a statement late on Wednesday.

ZTE's booth at MWC Barcelona is in 3F30, Hall 3, FIRA GRAN VIA, the company said.

Earlier, The Verge reported that ZTE was cancelling its press conference at MWC partly due to practical issues like travel and visa delays and also because "(we) tend to be an overly courteous company, and simply don't want to make people uncomfortable".

Asserting that it has always put the health of its employees and customers on priority, ZTE said that it has adopted a series of strong prevention, control and safeguard measures as per the guidelines of the Chinese health department and WHO.

"ZTE will ensure that all employees from mainland China, including non-Chinese nationals, have no symptoms two weeks before departure and arrival in the MWC. Additionally, all employees are required to undergo two weeks of self-isolation to ensure the health and safety of all our staff," the company said.

The company also committed that it will ensure that all senior company executives participating in the high-level meetings will self-isolate themselves in Europe for at least two weeks prior to the MWC.

"ZTE will ensure that the exhibition stand and equipment are disinfected daily," the company said, adding that it will ensure that its booth presentation staff are all from countries outside China, and mainly from Europe.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics has confirmed its decision to withdraw from the world's largest mobile trade show in Barcelona this month.

The death toll due to the fast-spreading novel coronavirus in China has so far increased to 563, authorities said on Thursday, while the number of confirmed cases rose to 28,018.