America sees threat of China spying, will help buy non-Huawei gear, says official
27 June, 2020
The United States is ready to help other countries finance purchases of next-generation telecom technology from Western providers so they can avoid Chinese tech giant Huawei, which Washington sees as a security threat, an American official said Thursday.
Washington is lobbying European and other allies to exclude Huawei Technologies Ltd. as they upgrade to 5G networks. Australia, Japan plus some others have imposed restrictions on Chinese technology, but Huawei’s lower-cost products is favored by developing countries and is producing inroads into Europe.
Supplying Huawei even a tiny 5G role allows Beijing to extend its “surveillance state” simply by eavesdropping on phone and other network-based systems, explained Keith Krach, a U.S. undersecretary of state for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.
“There’s plenty of financing tools and the ones sorts of things that I believe many countries like us are prepared to help provide, because we recognize this danger,” Krach said on a conference call with reporters.
Huawei, China’s first global tech brand, may be the biggest maker of network apparatus and the No. 2 smartphone brand. This is a leader in 5G, along with Finland’s Nokia Corp. and Sweden’s LM Ericsson.
Washington is in talks with Brazil above possible financing of 5G apparatus purchases by its phone carriers, the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported this month, citing the American ambassador to Brazil, Todd Chapman. Chapman explained Washington also was chatting with other countries.
Krach gave no financial details but cited South Korea’s Samsung seeing as another potential vendor of “trusted communications” equipment.
The pressure on Huawei comes at the same time of increasingly rancorous U.S.-Chinese relations above the coronavirus pandemic, a security law imposed in Hong Kong and Beijing’s recent border clash with Indian soldiers.
Huawei denies U.S. accusations it facilitates Chinese spying or is certainly manipulated by the ruling Communist Party. Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, told reporters in January 2019 that he'd reject official demands to reveal its customers’ secrets despite a Chinese law that requires companies to hand over any information demanded by the federal government.
5G is supposed to expand systems to aid self-driving cars, vitality plants, remotely manipulated medical apparatus and other futuristic applications. That means it is even more intrusive and politically sensitive.
“Everything is linked to it,” said Krach. “It’s an interconnected system, and you are just as strong as your weakest link.”
U.S. export controls imposed this past year block Huawei’s usage of most American parts and different technology. Washington tightened restrictions this year by barring companies outside the United States from employing American technology to create processor chips and different parts for Huawei without U.S. government permission.
Washington wants other governments to eliminate previously generations of Huawei technology aswell, Krach said.
“If countries opting for their 5G devices, this is definitely the time to accomplish a rip-and-replace transition,” he said.
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