UK working with USA to hit Huawei, says Beijing
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 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 Governmentordered 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 co-operated with the US to discriminate, oppress and exclude Chinese companies in violation of the principle of market economy and free trade. This breaches the UK’s promises,” 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.”
Meanwhile in London, 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.
In a press conference, Mr Trump spoke of having “convinced many countries” including the UK not to use Huawei.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged the US sanctions played a role in the ban and said trade discussions were also an important consideration, but insisted it was “a sensible decision”.
He told Sky News: “All sorts of people can try to claim credit for the decision, but this was based on a technical assessment by the National Cyber Security Centre about how we can have the highest quality 5G systems in the future.”
Huawei, which denies being a security threat, urged ministers to reconsider the move.
Telecoms firms will be banned from next year from purchasing new 5G equipment from Huawei and will have to remove all the Chinese company’s kit by 2027.
They are also expected to be ordered to shift away from the purchase of Huawei’s equipment for fullfibre broadband networks over a period lasting up to two years.
The firm had been given permission to play a limited role in the 5G network in January.