If a network device has both a static route and a direct route to network...

This statement is true . When a device has multiple routes to the same destination prefix, route selection is based first on the longest prefix match , and when prefix length is the same, the device compares the route preference or administrative priority associated with each routing source. On Huawei devices, a direct route has a better preference than a static route , so the direct route is selected first when both routes have the same destination and mask.

A direct route is generated automatically when an IP address is configured on an interface and that interface is Up. Because the destination network is directly connected, this route is considered more trustworthy and efficient than a manually configured static route pointing to the same prefix. HCIA-Datacom uses this principle to explain route selection, routing-table generation, and troubleshooting cases where a configured static route does not appear as the active route because a direct or dynamic route has higher priority. This is a basic but important concept in IP forwarding and helps engineers correctly interpret routing tables on Huawei routers and Layer 3 switches.