In a statement released on Monday, the company noted that it had appointed former Labor Victorian Premier John Brumby and former Liberal Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to its local board, along with professional director John Lord, who will now be the company’s local chairman.

“At a time when Australia’s business relationships with China are more important than ever, Huawei has made an important investment in the Australian market by creating this local Board,” said Downer, who served the Howard Government as Foreign Minister from 1996 through 2007. “80 percent of Huawei staff are now locals, and the technological innovation pouring out of Huawei’s global R&D centres will have a positive impact on telecommunications in Australia.”

“Having worked with Huawei to commit $250,000 towards the Next Generation Technology Training Centre with RMIT University, Huawei showed it was willing to train local students and tackle Australia’s ICT skills shortage,” Brumby added. “Huawei has a lot to contribute to Australia’s ICT sector and I’m confident that the local Board will establish a strong foundation for its long-term success.” The politician resigned from state parliament after losing the Victorian election last year.

Huawei’s full Board will now be comprised of the three new directors, alongside Huawei Australia CEO Guo Fulin, Huawei south pacific president Jeff Liu, and two members from Huawei’s global Board: global director Chen Lifang, and global executive director Li Jie.

The news comes after Huawei has experienced both commercial success as well as a high degree of public scrutiny in the years since it opened its doors in Australia in 2004.