In snub to US, Britain will allow Huawei in 5G networks
Britain decided on Tuesday to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to supply new high-speed network equipment, ignoring US government warnings that it would sever intelligence cooperation if it did not ban the firm. The government’s decision on Tuesday is the first by a major US ally in Europe, and follows intense lobbying from the Trump administration and China as the two vie for technological dominance.
It sets up a diplomatic clash with the Americans, who claim that British sovereignty is at risk because the company could give the Chinese government access to data, an allegation Huawei denies.
The decision was awkward for British PM Boris Johnson, who risked the fury of one of
Britain’s closest allies at just the moment it really needs Trump’s administration to quickly strike a trade deal after Brexit. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is due to visit London on Wednesday to meet with Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to reaffirm the tran-Atlantic relationship.
A senior Trump administration official said the US is disappointed by the decision, adding that the US government would work with the UK on a “way forward” that leads to the exclusion of “untrusted vendor components” from 5G networks. The official was not authorised to comment on the sensitive diplomacy between longstanding allies and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Britain is also loath to insult China, which it likewise needs for future trade deals.
The government said it is excluding “high risk” firms from supplying the sensitive “core” parts of the new 5G, networks. The core is the brain that keeps track, among other things, of smartphones connecting to networks and helps manage data traffic. But Britain will allow high risk suppliers to provide up to 35% of the less risky radio access network of antennas and base stations. By giving Huawei limited access, the UK is attempting to thread a path between the US and China.