China promises UK a ‘public and painful’ payback
Trade war fears over Huawei ban as...
The UK will face ‘public and painful’ retaliation for kicking huawei out of the 5G network, China warned yesterday.
It accused the British Government of working with the US to ‘discriminate against, oppress and exclude’ Chinese businesses.
The move came after ministers ordered UK telecoms firms to stop using huawei equipment for the next generation mobile system. China’s Global Times newspaper, which is widely seen as a mouthpiece for the Communist regime in Beijing, said: ‘It’s necessary for China to retaliate against the UK – otherwise wouldn’t we be too easy to bully? Such retaliation should be public and painful for the UK.’
China’s ambassador in London, Liu Xiaoming, claimed ministers were siding with ‘China bashers’ in the US and warned that businesses from his country could now pull out of the UK in response.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman hua Chunying warned in a briefing that the 5G 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.’
She stressed: ‘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 be non-discriminatory. We have severe concerns on that and we remind all Chinese companies to pay attention to the increasing political and security risks.’
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced on Tuesday that broadband providers would be banned from installing new huawei equipment in 5G networks by the end of this year and ordered to strip it all out by 2027. The move followed a study by the National Cyber Security Centre, which concluded that tough new US sanctions on huawei would make it impossible for the firm to produce secure equipment.
Mr Dowden acknowledged the decision was likely to delay the introduction of 5G, which promises lightning fast download speeds, and warned that it could add £2billion claimed to costs. that the Mr UK Liu yesterday was acting as the ‘junior partner’ to US President Donald Trump, who is targeting huawei as part of a wider trade war with China.
Mr Trump also claimed he was responsible for Boris Johnson’s Uturn over huawei, saying his personal lobbying of the Prime Minister had changed policy. In a press conference, Mr Trump spoke of having ‘convinced many countries’, including the UK, not to use the Chinese giant. he said: ‘I did this myself, for the most part,’ adding: ‘If they want to do business with us, they can’t use it.’
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last night announced he would be visiting the UK next week for what some critics will see as a ‘victory lap’. health Secretary Matt hancock acknowledged the US sanctions played a role in the ban, but played down the President’s influence.
No10 also denied claims it had ditched huawei because of pressure from Mr Trump. The Prime Minister’s spokesman insisted it was a UK decision in response to sanctions from the US which were ‘like nothing we had ever seen before’. he said the Government was ‘clear- eyed’ about dealing with China but added: ‘We remain committed to a constructive relationship.’ huawei yesterday said the UK’s ban was ‘groundless’ and urged ministers to ‘think again’. It has always denied being a pawn of China’s Communist rulers. Comment – Page 16
HOW did ministers end up in such a mess over Huawei? Yes, the firm, effectively a branch of China’s Communist regime, has now been banned from our 5G network.
But it begs the question: Why was Britain incapable of producing a state-of-the-art communications system – relying instead on foreign companies?
This is the result of a monumental failure of industrial strategy, which has seen many of our tech crown jewels flogged to the highest bidder.
Predicatably, Beijing has threatened revenge. That could mean cyber-attacks, import bans, or an investment drought. It could hardly come at a worse time.
Meanwhile, Huawei is already working on 5G’s successor. If we do not keep up in future, this farce will happen once again.