US lawmakers urge Canada to snub China’s Huawei in telecoms

WASHINGTON: Two leading US lawmakers, both sharp critics of China, urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday to consider dropping China’s Huawei Technologies from helping to build next-generation 5G telecommunications networks.

Senators Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said they had “grave concerns” about the prospects of Huawei equipment in Canada’s 5G networks on the grounds that it would pose dangers for US networks.

“While Canada has strong telecommunications security safeguards in place, we have serious concerns that such safeguards are inadequate given what the United States and other allies know about Huawei,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Trudeau. Warner and Rubio are on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

A spokesperson for Huawei did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Huawei’s chips and equipment have faced scepticism in a number of developed countries, with Australia saying in August that it would ban Huawei technology from its 5G network. Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network gear, criticized the Australian ban as “politically motivated.”

The company has repeatedly denied engaging in intelligence work for any government.