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UK needs ‘degree of caution’ when dealing with large Chinese companies, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt warns over role of Huawei in 5G network
- Britain’s top diplomat insisted Beijing had a ‘degree of control’ over Chinese companies would not be possible if they were large Western firms
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British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has urged caution over the role of China’s Huawei in the UK, saying the government should think carefully before opening its doors to the technology giant to develop next-generation 5G mobile networks.
His comments came after Prime Minister Theresa May conditionally allowed Huawei to build the UK 5G network, according to media reports last week.
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The company faces resistance in some Western markets over fears Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure.
“We are right to have a degree of caution about the role of large Chinese companies because of the degree of control the Chinese state is able to exercise over them in the way that would not be possible if they were large Western companies,” Hunt told Monday’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“That doesn’t mean to say that their role is automatically malign, but there are things like the 2017 law which requires all Chinese companies, whatever their ownership, to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services on any occasion.
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