Macroscope | Huawei is just the start: 5G will be a central front in the US-China war for technological supremacy
- Despite Huawei’s leading role in the field, security concerns mean the US was certain to oppose the Chinese firm’s involvement in the roll-out of 5G tech – and Washington won’t be alone
Pulling no punches, the strategy asserts that “China gathers and exploits data on an unrivalled scale and spreads features of its authoritarian system, including corruption and the use of surveillance”, separately adding that “America’s competitors weaponise information to attack the values and institutions that underpin free societies, while shielding themselves from outside information”.
Beijing strongly rejects these assertions but, given that these standpoints reflect current thinking in Washington’s corridors of power, there’s no way the US was ever going to allow Huawei, or indeed any Chinese telecoms firm, however advanced their technology, anywhere near a project considered as critical to the future of the US economy as the roll-out of 5G.
The same rationale, along with a likely desire not to break ranks with Washington, explains why other countries also appear reluctant to allow Huawei to take the lead in the roll-out of 5G mobile telecommunications technology that will facilitate the transfer of data at a speed far in excess of what is currently achievable, even though the Chinese firm offers a sophisticated kit at an affordable price.