German foreign minister casts doubt on Huawei’s participation in country’s 5G development

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday cast doubt on whether Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies could participate in the development and construction of the country’s fifth-generation data network (5G).

Maas told reporters in Berlin that Huawei was a company dependent on the Chinese state due to its national security laws, which meant Huawei was obliged to pass on information to the government there.

Germany therefore wants to add a test of trustworthiness to the 5G security catalogue that so far had mainly envisaged an evaluation of technical criteria, Maas said.

In this test of trustworthiness, German authorities will examine if a company is forced by law in its home country to pass on information and data that actually should be protected, Maas said, adding: “That’s the case with Huawei.”

The comments by the foreign minister are the strongest sign yet Berlin is willing to take a tougher approach on Huawei and may exclude the Chinese equipment vendor at least from some parts of the 5G network.

Government officials confirmed last month that Germany’s so-called security catalogue foresaw an evaluation of technical and other criteria, but said no single vendor would be barred in order to create a level playing field for equipment vendors.