US national security adviser urges Brazil not to use Huawei equipment in its 5G network

Jake Sullivan conveyed the warning to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a trip last week, a White House official confirms
Sullivan also told Bolsonaro that US supports Brazil’s bid to become a Nato partner, but is said not to have tied that support to avoiding Huawei

US-China tech war

Jodi Xu Klein

Published: 5:52am, 10 Aug 2021

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US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has urged Brazil not to use Huawei Technologies equipment in developing its 5G telecommunications network, a White House official confirmed on Monday.

During his trip to Brazil last week, Sullivan expressed concerns to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro about Huawei’s potential role in Brazil infrastructure, Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the western hemisphere at the National Security Council, said at a briefing.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at Brazil’s ministry of defence in Brazilia on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

The warning continues a US campaign initiated two years ago by then-US president Donald Trump to persuade allied countries to exclude Huawei from their 5G wireless networks, contending that Beijing could use the Chinese-made telecoms for espionage.

Gonzalez said that Sullivan also conveyed US President Joe Biden’s interest to “support Brazil‘s aspirations of becoming a Nato global partner as a way to deepen security cooperation over time between Brazil and the Nato countries”.

Gonzalez said that US support for Brazil for the Nato bid was not “an exchange” to bar Huawei from the country’s 5G network. There is “no quid pro quo”, he said, “there are two separate issues”.

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Sullivan’s visit to Brazil and Argentina last week came as US concerns grew about the potential security threats posed by Chinese telecoms companies, including Huawei. Since 2019 the tech giant has been added to US government blacklists that ban American companies from supplying or buying its equipment and services because of national security risks.

A US embassy spokesperson in Brazil also said last week that the US had “strong concerns” about Huawei telecoms equipment Brazil is considering.

Chinese officials decried the remarks over the weekend.

“We express strong discontent and vehement objection to such behaviours of publicly coercing and intervening in other countries‘ 5G construction and sabotaging normal China-Brazil cooperation,” the Chinese embassy in Brazil said on Saturday.

Brazil made no commitments about whether it would use products from Huawei, Gonzalez said on Monday.

“They are focusing on finalising an auction and making sure that the auction allows for very high standards for transparency, but also allows a level playing field for market participants,” Gonzalez said.

“But we did agree on finding ways for us to support them in developing potential opportunities for a Brazilian entrance into the market,” he added. “There is a huge opportunity for Brazil to break into Open RAN and develop its own domestic industry.”

Open RAN, or open radio access network, is a software-based 5G network that connects devices through cableless radio connections. The system would avoid the need for expensive proprietary hardware from a single provider to minimise security risks.