European Union finds itself in crossfire in Huawei battle
- US vice-president, Chinese official spar at gathering of senior security officials
- Pressure is ramping up as Europeans try to work out a common approach toward the risks of using Chinese kit in the next generation of data networks
The global tech war over Huawei Technologies saw the European Union come under pressure from both the US and China as they fought over whether the company’s equipment should be banned from future 5G networks.
“Chinese law requires them to provide Beijing’s vast security apparatus with access to any data that touches their networks or equipment,” US Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday at the annual gathering of senior security officials in Munich. “The United States is calling on all our security partners to be vigilant and to reject any enterprise that would compromise the integrity of our communications technology or national security systems.”
Chinese politburo member Yang Jiechi was up next on the same stage and he hit back hard.
“Chinese law doesn’t require companies to install back doors or collect intelligence,” Yang said in English, urging the Europeans to consider whether the US had their interests at heart, or its own. “Huawei as a company is cooperating very closely with European countries.”
Next-generation networks
The pressure is ramping up as Europeans try to work out a common approach toward the risks of using Chinese kit in the next generation of data networks.