Britain Looking For Huawei Solution as US Pressure Mounts

Credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting with senior ministers to come up with an answer for whether to use Huawei equipment for the UK’s new 5G network.

The UK has plans to use equipment made by Huawei to power the country’s future 5G network. At the same time, the country and its leader have come under pressure from the US to forgo using Huawei equipment over fears of espionage. The US is worried the use of equipment from China’s leading telecommunications company could harm intelligence sharing between the US and UK. Huawei, for its part, denies all US allegations that it conducts espionage for the Chinese government.

Johnson brought up the possibility of keeping the new Huawei technology without putting national security at risk on Monday. “We are going to come up with a solution that enables us to achieve both those objectives,” Johnson responded to a reporter’s question about Huawei. On the one hand, the UK has a strong alliance and security relationship with the US. On the other, 5G is being touted as one of the greatest technological innovations of our time, and Huawei makes the cheapest and most reliable equipment for setting it up. For now, British intelligence officials are criticizing Huawei’s alleged security flaws in its equipment, while at the same time maintaining that they have found no evidence of Chinese espionage through the company and that they can handle and manage any risk posed by them.

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