HUAWEI'S PERCEIVED THREAT EXPLAINED

The UK has banished Huawei from its telecommunications networks. Was this the result of US pressure, or domestic concern over the reliance Britain placed on the firm for critical infrastructure?

- Thomas Withington

“We welcome the news that the United Kingdom plans to ban Huawei from future 5G networks and phase out untrusted equipment from existing networks,” said Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state on 14 July. Pompeo was welcoming the British Government’s decision taken that day to ban UK telecommunications firms from buying and using equipment provided the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The ban also requires all Huawei equipment to be phased out of UK telecommunications by 2027.

At first glance, the decision seemed to be the result of direct pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump. The US government had concerns Huawei’s equipment could contain ‘back doors’ to enable Chinese intelligence operatives to spy on traffic moving through telecom networks. In 2018 the US defence funding bill which legislated defence spending for fiscal year 2019 contained a passage preventing the federal government from doing business with Huawei.

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