US officials have intensified criticism of allies that are embracing 5G equipment from Chinese vendors.
On Thursday, US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios spoke at a technology conference in Lisbon and reiterated Washington’s position that Chinese firms cannot be fully trusted because they may be compelled to cooperate with Beijing’s intelligence services.
Huawei, a major Chinese telecommunications vendor, remains one of the primary suppliers used in global networks, known for innovative and cost-effective hardware.
In his speech Kratsios singled out Huawei and urged Europe to “take a stand” alongside the US, which earlier this year tightened export controls on the company.
“We may not see eye-to-eye on every aspect of technology policy, but we all agree on the principles that matter most,” Kratsios said.
Last month, Germany’s foreign intelligence chief warned against involving Huawei in 5G infrastructure. Bruno Kahl told a parliamentary committee that infrastructure “is not a suitable area for a group that cannot be trusted fully,” highlighting security concerns that have grown across Europe.
The UK has not yet made a final decision on whether to continue allowing Huawei equipment in 5G networks. As reported earlier this year, all of the country’s major operators currently use some Huawei equipment.
“We’ve already started to deploy equipment for when we launch 5G in the second half of the year,” Three CEO David Dyson said. “So if we had to change vendor now, we would take a big step backwards and probably cause a delay of 12 to 18 months.”
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Sky News in August that he expected the UK “won’t say no to us” in its 5G rollout. He praised then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “very decisive” and “very capable,” and suggested the UK could become “a huge industrial power” by focusing on artificial intelligence and genetics.
However, comments by US National Security Advisor John Bolton during a visit to the UK indicated that UK officials were taking a cautious approach. “They [UK officials] said, in particular, they are looking really from square one on the Huawei issue. They were very concerned about not having any compromise in the security of telecommunications in the 5G space,” Bolton told reporters.
A series of allegations
Huawei maintains that Beijing does not control its operations, but a number of allegations have undermined the company’s efforts to reassure international partners.
In his Lisbon speech, Kratsios referenced reporting published by Le Monde that claimed data was transferred at suspicious hours from the African Union’s headquarters to China over a five-year period via Huawei equipment.
Huawei has strongly rejected Kratsios’ remarks, calling them “hypocritical and manifestly false.”
Earlier in the week, Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai used a major address at the Council on Foreign Relations to warn about Huawei’s potential links to the Chinese state. “China could compel Huawei to spy on foreign individuals and businesses and prevent Huawei from disclosing such surveillance requests,” Pai said.
“You don’t have to look hard to find evidence that the Chinese government is willing and able to use its growing influence over global commerce to advance its own interests,” he added.
Pai also cited research from cybersecurity firm Finite State that reported a majority of examined Huawei firmware images contained at least one potential backdoor, a finding that has raised further concerns among security experts.
This year the US Department of Justice charged Huawei with stealing trade secrets from T‑Mobile, and the US Commerce Department placed Huawei and 70 of its affiliates on its “entity list,” restricting American companies from doing business with them without explicit government approval.
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