Britain wants US to form a 10-nation 5G alliance to cut reliance on China’s Huawei
- Proposed ‘D10’ club of democratic partners would include Australia, South Korea and India
- Issue is expected to feature at a G7 summit that Donald Trump will host next month
It said one of the options involved channelling investments into existing telecommunication companies within the 10 member states.
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Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson are Europe’s only current alternative options for supplying 5G equipment such as antennas and relay masts.
A Downing Street spokesman confirmed that Britain is reaching out to partners in search for an alternative to Huawei.
“We (are) seeking new entrants into the market in order to diversify and that is something we’ve been speaking with our allies about, including the United States,” the Downing Street spokesman said.
Johnson’s decision this year to include Huawei angered Washington because it believes that the private Chinese company can either spy on Western communications or simply shut down the British network under orders from Beijing.
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But his reported plan to eventually cut Huawei out of the network could significantly complicate London’s relations with China just as Johnson seeks new trade partners following Britain’s exit from the EU.
Johnson challenged his US critics in January to come up with an alternative to Huawei if they did not want Britain to use the Chinese firm.