Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment supplier, opened its new Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels on Tuesday, as the company pushes back on efforts by the US government to shut it out of 5G network gear markets around the world. The centre aims to help build “a secure and trustworthy digital environment” in Europe, according to Huawei deputy chairman Ken Hu Houkun at the launch of the facility in the de facto capital of the European Union. Hu urged regulators, standards organisations and telecoms network operators to use the centre “to collaborate more closely on security standards, verification and secure innovation”. “Trust in cybersecurity is one of the major challenges that we face as a global community,” he said. “Trust needs to be based on facts. Facts must be verifiable and verification must be based on common standards.” Huawei goes on legal warpath with twin North American lawsuits The launch comes after Guo Ping, one of three rotating chairmen at Huawei, defended the Shenzhen-based company’s track record in security at last week’s MWC Barcelona, the world’s biggest exhibition for the mobile industry, amid repeated accusations by the US government that its products can be used to spy for China. “Looking at the events from the past few months, it’s clear that this facility is now more critical than ever,” Hu said, noting that plans for the facility were first announced at the European Business Summit last year. The stakes are high for Huawei to bolster its security credentials in Europe because the company gets almost half of its more than US$100 billion in annual revenue from overseas markets. United States broke WTO rules in tackling Huawei, top Chinese official says Europe, where Huawei has an estimated 30 per cent share of the market, is also under threat because the US is putting pressure on its economic allies in the continent to block use of the Chinese company’s products in telecoms networks. The US wants Huawei gear excluded from upcoming advanced 5G mobile networks, saying the company poses a security threat because China’s intelligence law compels companies and individuals to surrender data to Chinese intelligence services. The US pressure has prompted Huawei to take a more aggressive stance. The company plans to file a lawsuit this week against the US, aimed at a law that blocks certain government agencies from using equipment from the company and domestic rival ZTE Corp. Huawei’s lawsuit was first reported by The New York Times . US-China trade tensions fuel misconceptions about role of Chinese tech firms, says Alibaba Cloud executive That legal offensive would come just days after Huawei’s chief financial officer, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, sued the Canadian government, its border agency and federal police for allegedly disregarding her constitutional rights. Despite mounting pressure from Washington and a US case that accuses the Chinese company of financial fraud and violation of trade sanctions against Iran, Huawei announced that it already secured more than 25 commercial 5G contracts with large telecoms network operators across the globe. The Chinese technology giant has also pledged to invest US$2 billion in cybersecurity over the next five years as part of its efforts to ease security concerns. Huawei defends its track record in data security, saying US has no evidence to back up Chinese spying allegations “While Huawei can do its best to try to educate customers, it is always going to have to deal with claims of security challenges from other jurisdictions, as well as the suggestion that it is required to do the bidding of the Chinese government,” said Paul Haswell, a partner who advises technology companies at international law firm Pinsent Masons. “It’s a difficult and arguably, unique challenge for a tech provider.” At the new cybersecurity centre’s launch, Hu said Europe has strong experience in driving unified standards and regulation, citing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as an example. “It sets clear standards, defines responsibilities for all parties, and applies them equally to all companies operating in Europe,” Hu said. “As a result, GDPR has become the golden standard for privacy protection around the world. We believe that European regulators can also lead the way on similar mechanisms for cybersecurity.”