Germany right to separate 5G from politics

In a rebuff to the United States’ call to strangle Huawei Technologies worldwide, Germany has finalized security rules for the construction of its next-generation 5G networks that will not exclude the Chinese telecommunications maker.

“We are not taking a pre-emptive decision to ban any actor, or any company,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a news conference in Berlin on Monday.

Such a decision was probably not easy to make, given the immense pressure the US has piled on its allies to ban Huawei’s equipment on the false pretext it poses national security risks.

The US itself has slapped an outright ban on Huawei claiming the company has installed “back doors” in its equipment to enable the Chinese government to siphon off sensitive information. Some of its allies such as Australia have followed suit.

The mud-slinging, obviously meant to dent China’s edge in high-tech development, has played on fears over the alleged close links that Washington claims exist between the private company and the Chinese government, instead of being based on any proof.

Huawei has denied the spy allegations, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has clarified that no Chinese company is required to install back doors.

To fend off fears of data leaks, Huawei has opened a Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels, aiming to offer government agencies, technical experts and standards organizations a platform where they can communicate and collaborate to balance out security and development in the digital era. It also opened a laboratory in the German city of Bonn last November where cyber security officials can test the company’s equipment and software code.

That 17 of the 26 5G networks around the world use Huawei equipment, including those in Spain, Switzerland and the Republic of Korea, testifies to the growing confidence in Huawei’s security assurance.

Network operators in Europe believe that banning the world’s leading vendor could delay deployment of 5G by as much as three years. As improving Germany’s mobile and internet network is a policy priority for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition, and German operators are all customers of Huawei, it is natural for Germany and Huawei to strengthen their collaboration in cyber security and the roll-out of 5G networks.

Germany’s latest step to disentangle business and politics in the face of US pressure is laudable and a win-win for broader China-Germany business and economic cooperation.