US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expected to thank Britain for Huawei 5G ban

Name: UK bans Huawei from 5G network after US sanctions
Uploaded: 2020-07-17T16:05:12.000Z
Duration: 2 min 27 s
Description: UK bans Huawei from 5G network after US sanctions

Hong Kong’s new national security law also expected to be on the agenda when Pompeo visits London

Trip comes as Washington tries to forge united front with Europe over Chinese technology giant

Reading Time:2 minutes

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip was first reported by British media just hours after Westminster announced the decision to ban Huawei equipment from the 5G networks from next year and to phase out all existing equipment by 2027. Photo: AFP

Stuart Lau

Published: 12:05am, 18 Jul 2020Updated: 10:30pm, 18 Jul 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to thank the British government for its decision to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from involvement in the country’s 5G network when he visits London next week, the South China Morning Post has learned.

Pompeo’s trip will also include discussion on human rights in Hong Kong after Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in the special administrative region, sources said.

“Pompeo’s main purpose in London is to thank the British government for the decision it has taken on Huawei,” a source with direct knowledge of preparations for the trip said.

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UK bans Huawei from 5G network after US sanctions

According to the US State Department, Pompeo will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss “Covid-19 economic recovery plans, issues related to the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, and the US-UK free trade agreement negotiations”.

As Pompeo begins his trip, Raab is expected to deliver a speech on China in the parliament on Monday, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle demanding a clear government strategy on the world’s second-biggest economy.

On Tuesday, Pompeo is expected to meet a small group of lawmakers and possibly some human rights activists, sources said.

Bob Seely, a Conservative member of parliament critical of the Chinese government, said he expected Pompeo to listen to different voices – not just in Whitehall, but also in Westminster.

“He would try to get an understanding of both voices. In many ways, parliament is helping lead the policy on China,” Seely, also a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said, adding that Hong Kong would also likely be discussed.