Boris Johnson’s Huawei plan at risk as UK set to rethink China ties over coronavirus pandemic
- China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered calls from prominent Tories for a rethink of the UK’s push for closer ties to China
- Under the UK’s current policy, a 35 per cent cap will be imposed on Huawei’s share of the non-sensitive section of the next-generation networks
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to let Huawei Technologies help build the UK’s fifth-generation mobile networks is under threat from mounting opposition to the Chinese company in his ruling Conservative Party, government officials say.
The government had hoped to win over Tory rebels with an information campaign about Huawei ahead of an as-yet-unscheduled vote in Parliament on the company’s involvement in the country’s 5G infrastructure. But two people familiar with the government’s thinking now believe that a hardening of positions among rank-and-file Conservative MPs will make it difficult – if not impossible – to get the legislation passed.
China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered calls from prominent Tories for a rethink of the UK’s push for closer ties to China after former Tory Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping promised a “golden era” in 2015. Even Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said at a televised press conference on Thursday it cannot be “business as usual” with China once the pandemic is over.
That has put the spotlight firmly back on Huawei. Johnson’s government decided in January to give the company a limited role in 5G wireless networks and fibre, while capping its market share and restricting it from the network core which sees and controls sensitive information.
The go-ahead came after the UK’s security services said risks associated with Huawei – the US and other countries say the company is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party and could enable spying – can be managed. A spokesman for Huawei, which has repeatedly denied that its equipment poses a security risk, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government’s argument did not persuade a group of Tories. They include former party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who led a rebellion over a relatively minor piece of telecommunications legislation in the House of Commons last month to warn ministers of the strength of feeling about Huawei. The government, which has an 80-seat majority, passed the bill by just 24 votes.