Johnson facing Chinese backlash as Beijing hits out at UK ban on Huawei
BEIJING accused Britain of working with the US to “discriminate, oppress and exclude” Chinese firms and warned of jeopardised relations after Huawei was banned from the UK’S 5G network.
Boris Johnson faced a diplomatic backlash yesterday in response to his major U-turn over the Chinese tech giant, a move which US President Donald Trump claimed credit for.
The Prime Minister ordered telecoms firms to remove Huawei equipment from the 5G network by 2027 in a move costing billions and delaying the deployment of 5G by up to three years.
The ban came after a Government-ordered review found the security of Huawei’s equipment could not be guaranteed because of US sanctions.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying warned that the ban “will only hurt the UK’S own interests”, adding: “This is a big world and the UK is just a small part of it.
“Without any evidence the UK under the pretext of risks which don’t exist at all cooperated with the US to discriminate, oppress and exclude Chinese companies in violation of the principle of market economy and free trade,” she said.
“The UK has made the wrong decision that undermines severely the Chinese company’s interests and the mutual trust between China and the UK.
“This is about China facing a major threat in its investment security in the UK and our confidence whether the UK market can maintain openness, fairness and non-discriminatory... we have severe concerns on that and we remind all Chinese companies to pay attention to the increasing political and security risks.”
China’s ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming accused Britain of behaving like a “junior partner” of the US. He suggested ministers imposed the ban because they “had to succumb to pressure” from the “China hawks and China bashers”.
Mr Johnson acted on Tuesday after coming under pressure from his own MPS on the Tory backbenches and from Mr Trump’s administration as the UK tries to broker a post-brexit trade deal with the White House.
Mr Trump spoke of having “convinced many countries” including the UK not to use Huawei. He said: “I did this myself, for the most part.” He added: “If they want to do business with us, they can’t use it.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged US sanctions played a role in the ban and said trade discussions were also an important consideration, but insisted it was “a sensible decision”.