Germany promises not to exclude Huawei from 5G roll-out, more countries resist U.S.-led squeeze
Chinese telecoms giants are wining more and more friends in Europe in spite of U.S.-led geopolitical pressure, as a German official promised not to block any company from participation in the 5G roll-out in the local market.
German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier said the country will accelerate development of 5G, known as the next generation of wireless technologies, and will not exclude any specific companies from it, according to a post on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Sunday.
China and Germany also agreed on enhanced cooperation in other areas including smart manufacturing, connected vehicles and information technology, the MIIT post noted.
"5G is a result of global wisdom, and successful commercialization is in line with interests of each country," Miao Wei, head of MIIT, was quoted as saying in the post. He also urged a fair and reciprocal environment for related companies.
European countries such as Germany and the UK have been in the crosshairs of a U.S.-led geopolitical campaign to stonewall China's rise in 5G by persuading other countries to ban Huawei and ZTE for so-called security reasons.
However, the UK recently allowed Huawei to enter the local 5G market, which is widely seen as a move to break away from U.S.-led squeeze on Huawei and likely to be followed by other countries.
Some analysts suggested that carriers worldwide should adopt a more pragmatic view on this debate, prioritizing their commercial interests.
"Huawei has advanced technology and products in 5G, attributed to its strategic investment in 5G and long-term partnership with global telecom carriers. 5G is coming faster than many companies expected, and no telecom player can afford the loss of starting late," Charlie Dai, principal analyst of market research firm Forrester, told the Global Times in a recent interview.
Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming also urged the UK not to discriminate against specific companies and resist external pressure to make independent decisions, according to his article published in The Telegraph on Sunday.
The UK is not the only country ignoring the U.S.-led squeeze on Huawei and continuing to deploy Huawei equipment in its non-core mobile network infrastructure. And the motivation of course is because Huawei infrastructure is seen by many as the most advanced at this time, Kevin Curran, professor at Ulster University, told the Global Times.
"It seems that Huawei is set to expand its 5G operations in the days ahead," he said.
