Huawei Sure UK Will Withstand Pressure From US To Ban Firm’s 5G Equipment

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 15th August, 2019) Chinese IT giant Huawei said on Thursday that it was confident the United Kingdom would resist Washington’s “politically motivated” pressure on London to ban the usage of Huawei’s equipment in its future 5G Internet networks.In late July, UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright said that London had postponed its decision to use Huawei’s equipment to develop nationwide 5G infrastructure in the future. He noted that the government had to first study the impact of US sanctions on the telecom giant.

“Whatever happens on the political side will not impact Huawei’s decision in the UK. … We will continue our investment in the UK because the UK has the advantage of talent and also the [Research and Development] environment,” Victor Zhang, Huawei’s president of global government affairs, said as cited by Sky News.

According to Zhang, the Chinese company expected the UK government to “make the right decision” and allow the Huawei to supply critical parts for the 5G networks.

A UK parliament select committee said earlier in July that it had found no technological reasons for completely banning Huawei equipment from 5G development.

In April, outgoing UK Prime Minister Theresa May approved Huawei’s bid to help develop the nation’s 5G network despite warnings that the telecom giant posed a threat to national security. Media then reported, citing sources, that Huawei would be granted restricted access to build non-core infrastructure, such as antennas, in the country without access to the most sensitive areas of the national communications networks.

The US government, which blacklisted Huawei in May, restricts the company’s access to the purchase of US hardware and calls on its allies to exclude the company from their plans to establish 5G networks