Trump takes credit after UK bans China’s Huawei from 5G network

Donald Trump has appeared to take credit for having “convinced many countries”, including the UK, not to use Huawei after Boris Johnson ordered a ban on the Chinese firm with the country’s 5G network.

The US president said: “I did this myself, for the most part,” as he spoke of having worked to pressure nations to not use Huawei, adding: “If they want to do business with us, they can’t use it.”

In a major U-turn provoking criticism from China, the prime minister ordered telecoms firms to remove Huawei equipment from the 5G network by 2027.

The move, costing billions and delaying the deployment of 5G by up to three years, came after a government-ordered review found the security of Huawei’s equipment could not be guaranteed because of US sanctions.

Mr Trump boasted in a press conference that no White House “has been tougher on China” than his administration, which the UK is trying to broker a post-Brexit trade deal with.

“We convinced many countries, many countries, and I did this myself, for the most part, not to use Huawei because we think it’s an unsafe security risk. It’s a big security risk,” he said.

Meanwhile, China’s ambassador to the UK

Liu Xiaoming tweeted: “Disappointing and wrong decision by the UK on Huawei.

“It has become questionable whether the UK can provide an open, fair and nondiscriminatory business environment for companies from other countries.”

Huawei, which denies being a security threat, said decisions on its future in the UK had become politicised and urged ministers to reconsider the move.