China said Donald Trump’s remark shows Johnson’s decision concerns geopolitics (File)
London:
US President Donald Trump has said he was responsible for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to ban Huawei from the British 5G network, a remark that London dismissed and Beijing said the British decision was political.
Johnson on Tuesday ordered a complete purge of Huawei equipment from the UK 5G network by the end of 2027, risking China’s wrath by reporting that the world‘s largest telecommunications equipment maker was not welcome in the West.
Washington had long lobbied for such a measure and is still calling on other European countries to take similar measures.
“We have convinced many countries, many countries – I have done it myself for the most part – not to use Huawei, because we think it is a security risk, it is a big risk for security, “Trump told reporters at the White House Rose Garden.
“I have dissuaded many countries from using it: if they want to do business with us, they cannot use it. Even today, I think the UK has announced that it will not would not use. “
Britain has said its ban on Huawei is motivated by its own security concerns and fears that the supply of Huawei equipment will be cut off by U.S. sanctions.
He denied that Trump is solely responsible for the Huawei ban. Asked about the comments, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said, “Well, we all know Donald Trump, don’t we.”
China has said that Trump’s remark shows that Johnson’s decision was about geopolitics rather than security.
“This shows once again that the relevant bans on Huawei are completely independent of national security, rather it is a highly politicized manipulation,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “The UK deciding to ban the use of Huawei will harm the UK’s own interests. The world is big. The UK is a relatively small place.”
As Britain prepares to withdraw from the European Union, fears over Huawei’s security have forced Johnson to take sides in the global rivalry between the United States and China.
Trump identifies China as the main geopolitical rival of the United States and accused the Communist-led state of profiting from trade and of not telling the truth about the new epidemic of coronavirus, which he calls the ” Chinese plague “.
Washington and its allies say Huawei technology could be used to spy on China. Huawei denied this.
Britain has recognized that without Huawei’s equipment, it will take longer to deploy faster 5G mobile networks. China has said that investment in Britain will suffer.
“Now I would even say that it is not only disappointing – it is disheartening,” said Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to London.
(Report by Guy Faulconbridge in London and Martin Pollard in Beijing; Edited by Michael Holden, Alex Richardson and Peter Graff)
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
