US seeks to freeze out Huawei from Europe using rule of law argument

The US is urging allies to ban networking products from countries without independent court systems, an approach intended to block China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE from competing for new 5G telecoms networks in Europe and Asia.

Rob Strayer, the State Department’s deputy assistant for cyber policy, said some European countries were signalling support for broader rules that would effectively freeze Chinese 5G products out of their markets.

The US is engaged in a global campaign to keep Chinese tech companies out of advanced 5G networks promising faster connections, enabling uses such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery. American officials fear that the Chinese government may force companies such as Huawei to incorporate software code or hardware that would allow Beijing to spy on the US or allies and disrupt sectors ranging from power to transport and manufacturing in a crisis.

“The most fundamental security standard, really, is that you cannot have this extrajudicial, non-rule of law compliant process where a government can tell its companies to do something,” Strayer said on Monday.

Some European countries have dismissed US warnings that Huawei may enable Chinese espionage.