PENCE urses Europe to BE wary op Huawei 5G
But U.K. downplays dire threat warnings by U.S.
BEIJING — China’s government on Monday accused the United States of trying to block its industrial development after Vice President Mike Pence said Chinese equipment poses a threat to countries that are rolling out next-generation mobile communications.
And in a potential blow to U.S. efforts to rally its allies on the issue, British media reported that U.K. intelligence agencies had found that it is possible to limit potential security risks of Chinese equipment in fifth-generation networks.
The U.S. argues that Beijing might use Chinese tech companies to gather intelligence about foreign countries. The Trump administration has pressured allies to shun networks supplied by Huawei Technologies Ltd., threatening the company’s access to 5G markets.
Huawei, the biggest global maker of switching gear for phone and internet companies, denies accusations that it facilitates Chinese spying.
Speaking Saturday in Germany, Pence urged European allies to take seriously “the threat” he said was posed by Huawei as it looks for partners to build 5G networks.
The 5G technology is meant to vastly expand the reach of networks to support internet-linked medical equipment, factory machines, self-driving cars and other devices. That makes it more politically sensitive and raises the potential cost of security failures.
Pence said Huawei and other Chinese telecom equipment-makers provide Beijing with “access to any data that touches their network or equipment.”
In what could amount to a turning point for the U.S. effort to isolate Huawei, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre found that the risk of using its networks is manageable, according to the Financial Times and other British media outlets.
The reports, citing anonymous sources, said there are ways to limit cybersecurity risks. They said the U.K.’S decision would carry weight with European allies who are also evaluating the safety of their networks.
The British government is due to finish a review of its policies on the safety of 5G in March or April.
If eventually confirmed, “such a decision by the U.K. would be a strong message and could be influential in the medium term,” said Lukasz Olejnik, a research associate at Oxford University’s Center for Technology and Global Affairs.
Officials, including a vice president of the European Union, have expressed concern about Chinese regulations issued last year that require companies to cooperate with intelligence agencies. No country in Europe, however, has issued a blanket veto on using Huawei technology in the way the U.S. has urged.
Last month, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges against Huawei, its chief financial officer — who had been arrested in Canada — and several of its subsidiaries, alleging not only violation of trade sanctions but also the theft of trade secrets.
The United States has not, however, released evidence to support its accusations that Huawei and other Chinese tech companies allow the Chinese government to spy through their systems. That has prompted some industry analysts to suggest that Washington is trying to use security concerns to handicap Chinese competitors.