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China is putting economic pressure on European countries not to exclude equipment from the Chinese telecom supplier Huawei from their 5G infrastructure. Doing that will affect other trade, it sounds.
A Danish newspaper reported last week about a secret meeting between the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands and the Chinese ambassador for Denmark. The islands are largely dependent on salmon exports, a large part of which is destined for the Chinese market. The Chinese ambassador is said to have threatened to cancel a free trade contract that is currently on the table.
Last weekend it was also announced that the Chinese ambassador to Germany had also expressed a similar threat. There is also growing resistance in Germany to the use of Huawei equipment in 5G networks. There is a bill on the table for a broad ban on 'unreliable' 5G suppliers.
The new Italian Minister of Economic Affairs, Stefano Patuanelli, believes that the Chinese telecom company, accused by the United States and others, of espionage should not be banned from the rollout of 5G. The Italian minister thereby contradicts the Italian parliamentary committee for the intelligence and security services that advised that Chinese companies should be excluded from developing super-fast networks in Italy.
The US government has been lobbying quite a bit in Italy and in other European countries, such as Germany, to prevent the use of Huawei's equipment in their 5G networks. The US also advised to keep a close eye on deals with the Chinese ZTE. So far, both Huawei and ZTE deny all accusations.
Huawei responded last week to the findings of the Italian parliamentary committee, claiming that the company is complying with Italian law and that any allegation against it is based on geopolitical reasons.
In addition, the Chinese company made a tempting statement by promising to invest an amount of $ 3.1 billion in Italy. Telecom Italia is currently selecting suppliers to upgrade its network infrastructure. Huawei is also one of the most important contenders.
At the beginning of this year, the British government gave Huawei permission to help develop the British 5G network. The British National Security Council agreed last week that Huawei may contribute to a limited extent to the partial expansion of the network. This involves antennas and other "less essential" infrastructure. In the Netherlands too, consideration is being given to allowing Huawei to install super-fast internet, but not for spy-sensitive components.
