Ah, the vagaries of international business. Communication across cultures can be challenging, but the nuances of language can be particularly tough to convey when working through an interpreter.

It appears that something might have been lost -- or gained -- in translation in an interview with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s chief marketing officer Xu Zhijun and the Financial Times. Huwaei has sparked security concerns among U.S. lawmakers and regulators over its involvement in Bain Capital LLC's $2.1 billion buyout of networking equipment maker 3Com Corp. [COMS].

When asked whether the deal, which would grant Huawei a 16.5% stake in 3Com, threatens U.S. security, Zhijun told the FT via an interpreter "that would be bullshit."

Now, I don't know the Chinese word for "bullshit," but either this guy was misinterpreted, or really, really upset. It is still likely that the deal will go through, but Zhijun's comments probably won't cause the folks over at the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is vetting the acquisition for national security concerns, to ease up any. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis

See Feb. 12 article from FT.com
See Feb. 5 story from TheDeal.com