We do not want to see a nascent superpower undermining global order

If the howls of China’s cheerleaders are anything to go by, the writing appears to be on the wall for Huawei’s long-term prospects in the UK. As a Daily Telegraph report revealed last month, Government officials have been instructed to draw up plans for phasing Huawei out of the UK’S networks.

The initial decision to admit Huawei, which isolated us from our allies, has been taken out of our hands. The US, in banning the state-controlled firm from accessing US chips, will make Huawei dependent on unreliable components. As a result, the National Cyber Security Centre will almost certainly have to alter the UK’S security position. However, the task of reversing the decision is not just a simple binary one. In private, the Government is considering three options to end the UK’S dependency on Huawei.

The first would see a ban on new Huawei equipment being installed into the UK network from 2023 or 2024. This would keep Huawei’s involvement in our network to a minimum, stop its dominance of the 5G market, and over time end our relationship with the firm. Yet, millions of Huawei components, many with lifespans of over a decade, are already installed in the UK’S networks. So this approach would still leave the UK dependent on Huawei equipment for more than a decade. While an improvement, it is not sufficient.

Another option would see Huawei equipment removed from the UK network, root and branch, by a fixed date, drawing a line under a dalliance with the firm that has gone on too long.

The final option builds on proposals for a “no new equipment ban” by speeding up the removal of Huawei equipment in a way that fits into telecoms firms’ existing plans. It would ban new equipment and replacement parts for Huawei equipment. Thus, Huawei’s role in the UK would come to an end even sooner. This option would correct the worst consequence of our Huawei approach – the damage to our relationship with allies.

In allowing Huawei into our 5G networks, we undermined the unity of the Five Eyes approach to the conduct of China’s Communist Party. It is this damage to our alliances that concerns Parliamentarians about Huawei.

There can be no doubt that it is the question of parliamentary arithmetic as much as statecraft that is troubling ministers. There are three Bills due before the Commons that lend themselves to amendments that could change our relationship with China by law. They come at a time when increasingly Parliament is coalescing on its position on China. Last week, the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China was launched to push for a tougher response to the actions of the Chinese Communist Party. Its UK wing has members from the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Scottish National Party, and Green Party. Meanwhile, there is also the 59-strong Huawei Interest Group of Conservative MPS. In February, before we knew of China’s cover-up over coronavirus, an amendment we proposed to end Huawei’s role in the network fell by a narrow margin. All this goes to show that Parliament is restless about the UK’S dependency on China. More legislators are recognising that how we handle this issue hugely affects our constituents. MPS want their voices clear on issues like Hong Kong, trade dependency, Uighur Muslims, and network security. This is not about being anti-china but many are no longer prepared to sit by as a nascent superpower run by a repressive and intolerant government, undermines the global rules-based order.

This needn’t be Parliament versus Government. We are keen to develop a China policy that defends our values. But we must begin by not shackling ourselves to an untrusted, Chinesestate run telecommunications firm.