Huawei has launched an intensive public relations campaign in the UK as tensions between London and Beijing increase and the company faces heightened scrutiny.
In an open letter to the British public, Huawei stated:
“Keeping in contact with friends, loved ones and colleagues shouldn’t be hard. That’s why we’re making it easier to stay in touch.
For nearly 20 years, we’ve supplied the UK’s mobile and broadband companies with 3G and 4G. But some now question our role in helping Britain lead the way in 5G.
We want you to know we are as committed as ever to providing your network operator with the best equipment so you can share photos, stream movies, meet online and more.
While many in cities have fast, reliable connections, others are not so fortunate. We know a poor connection makes working from home or running a small business harder than it should be.
New 5G and full-fibre broadband networks will address these problems and we’re working to bring high-speed connections to every part of the country.
We’re also creating jobs, training the engineers of tomorrow, investing in new technology and supporting universities.
We’re here to help you enjoy better, faster connections—quickly, affordably and securely.
That’s our commitment to you.”
China has been criticized for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which is thought to have started in a Wuhan wet market. An Associated Press investigation reported that World Health Organization (WHO) officials were “considerably frustrated” by perceived delays in China sharing crucial information, despite the WHO’s public praise. The United States, once the WHO’s largest funder, pulled financial support and accused the agency of being “China-centric,” citing disagreements such as the WHO’s early advice against travel bans to China.
These controversies have led some politicians and segments of the public to hold China responsible for the severity and global spread of the pandemic, which kept families apart and cost many lives. As a Chinese company, Huawei risks backlash by highlighting its role in keeping people connected with their “friends, loved ones and colleagues” at a time when public sentiment toward Beijing is strained.
Huawei has been involved in the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure for almost two decades. The UK adopted a cautiously welcoming stance toward Huawei, even establishing the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) in Banbury to inspect the company’s equipment for security risks.
Until 2018, HCSEC generally provided reassurance that Huawei’s products were safe. However, that year the centre reported it could no longer guarantee that risks associated with Huawei gear could be mitigated, citing deficiencies in Huawei’s engineering processes. Concerns included technical limitations that made it difficult for security researchers to examine internal product code and questions about the sourcing of certain components used in Huawei products.
A follow-up HCSEC report in March 2019 criticized Huawei for slow progress in addressing those issues, stating that “no material progress has been made by Huawei in the remediation of the issues reported last year,” and that it was inappropriate to change the previous level of assurance or predict future improvements.
Earlier, in February 2019, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a respected defence and security think tank, warned against relying on Huawei equipment, noting: “It is far easier to place a hidden backdoor inside a system than it is to find one.”
Despite these concerns, after a multi-year security review the UK government decided in February to permit limited use of Huawei equipment in national 5G networks. Restrictions included a cap that Huawei gear may not account for more than 35 percent of an operator’s Radio Access Network and a ban on installing such equipment near sensitive sites like military bases or nuclear facilities.
That decision drew strong criticism from allied governments, members of Parliament, and human rights organisations. Reports later indicated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked officials to devise plans to remove Huawei equipment from UK 5G networks by 2023. An emergency review launched at the end of May tasked the National Cyber Security Centre with assessing whether additional U.S. sanctions on Huawei would make continued use of the vendor’s technology impractical, potentially accelerating its phase-out.
Huawei’s campaign appears aimed at winning public support amid a wave of negative headlines, including the arrest of CFO Meng Wanzhou on fraud charges and press accounts alleging tough internal rhetoric from founder Ren Zhengfei. The company emphasizes that its equipment is widely regarded as innovative and cost-effective, and that replacing Huawei entirely could cause delays, higher costs, and possible reductions in network performance.
Victor Zhang, Vice President of Huawei, commented:
“Huawei grew up in the UK. We’ve been here for 20 years and were integral in building the 3G and 4G networks we all use every day. Today’s letter underlines Huawei’s ongoing commitment to improving connectivity for everyone in the UK.
As a private company, 100% owned by employees, our priority has been to help mobile and broadband companies build a better connected UK. Britain needs the best possible technologies, more choice, innovation and more suppliers, all of which means more secure and more resilient networks.
This is fundamental to achieving the government’s Gigabit broadband target by 2025. This is our commitment to the UK.”
According to reports, China’s ambassador to the UK told business leaders that the Huawei dispute is “a litmus test of whether Britain is a true and faithful partner.”
Huawei’s pledges to tackle slow speeds, improve rural connectivity and create jobs may win some support. However, given the broader geopolitical disagreements between the UK and China, those promises may not be enough to fully sway public and political opinion.
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