Rebuffed by UK, US pitches 'big tent' for Huawei rivals in Europe
17 February, 2020
The United States is seeking to rally European support for opponents to Huawei Technologies following disappointment in Washington over Britain’s decision to use 5G equipment created by the Chinese company.
US officials at a worldwide security conference in Germany this week urged governments and business leaders to build an ecosystem of “industry champions” that provides alternatives to Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of mobile networking equipment.
Previous US efforts to convince allies to bar the Chinese company from their networks have generally centered on warnings that its equipment could possibly be employed by China for spying.
Huawei has repeatedly and vehemently denied the espionage allegations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Reuters on Friday there is no credible evidence that Huawei was a threat to US security.
Speaking on Saturday, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told the Munich Security Conference that Washington had been working with vendors to develop and test new 5G technologies.
“We are encouraging allied and US tech companies to build up alternative 5G solutions and we are working alongside them to check these technologies at our military bases as we speak,” Esper said.
The United States has used high-profile events in recent years to improve security concerns about Huawei equipment, warning that allies that put it to use within their networks risked being cut off from valuable intelligence-sharing feeds.
Officials in Munich repeated those concerns but also struck a softer tone, emphasizing the need to work with Huawei competitors to aid their market position. They stopped short, however, of detailing any concrete plans or measures.
White House advisor Robert Blair told reporters the United States was already working with Scandinavian suppliers Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Ericsson (ERICb.ST), together with Korea’s Samsung (005930.KS) and other smaller firms.
“We will have some sort of a partnership with industry, we’re not sure what that’s likely to appear to be but ... we could have a big tent,” said Blair, White House special representative for international telecommunications policy.
“It will be quite definitely a US-led effort but with like-minded partners all over the world and we’ll have to see where that discussion goes. And that’s a matter of months not years.”
People with knowledge of the matter said Blair had met with senior executives from both Nokia and Ericsson on the sidelines of the conference but declined to detail the contents of the conversations.
One industry executive said the united states arguments about alternate suppliers weren't new but had been stepped up following a British decision last month to use Huawei equipment, partly due to too little alternatives.
“If people oppose one brand or another then they have to reveal what is the choice, right?” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ahead of the UK’s decision.
“The Americans are annoyed by the weak response from Britain, and worry Germany and France will think the same,” said the industry executive, speaking on condition of anonymity to go over private conversations with American and European officials.
“As they view it, European leaders aren't basing their statements on facts.”
Source: