U.S. cybersecurity official calls on Britain: “rethinking” about Huawei issues

U.S. cybersecurity officials have warned that the Trump administration has not given up on efforts to prevent the use of Huawei equipment in UK 5G networks.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Networking and Communications Robert Strayer said the British government’s limited access to Huawei was not final.

He told the BBC, “Our understanding is that some preliminary decisions may have been made, but the dialogue continues.”

Strell warned again that allowing Huawei to enter the game would threaten intelligence sharing between the United States and Britain.

“If countries use unreliable vendors in 5G technology, it will threaten our ability to share information at the highest level.”

Stryer has been visiting European countries this week, reiterating the message conveyed by the Trump administration that Huawei has close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and choosing them would pose a security threat.

In a speech in Madrid, Strell repeatedly told European politicians that allowing high-risk companies like Huawei to enter the country would “undermine the critical infrastructure of 5G-based networks and obtain sensitive data.”

Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney met with officials, including Dominic Cummings, on Downing Street on Thursday, continuing to put pressure on the Johnson administration.

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The meeting was described as “constructive” and “lengthy”, but a spokesperson afterwards said that the British government’s position on 5G construction in January had not changed.

Just a mile away, at the Dorchester Hotel in London, Huawei hosted a grand event to publicize its success in winning 5G contracts and claim that its equipment is more advanced than its competitors.

The controversial Chinese company revealed that it has won 91 5G contracts, up from 65 in December.

Although the United States is putting pressure on operators to avoid Huawei, 47 of Huawei’s 5G commercial customers are in Europe.

In Europe’s 5G market, other major players are Nokia in Finland and Ericsson in Sweden. In the United States, South Korean giant Samsung is the main supplier.

But in an interview with the BBC, Paul Scanlon, chief technology officer of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group, said that he is confident that his company’s equipment is leading the way in sales and technical standards.

“One year to two years or even many years ahead of other companies,” he said.

He claims that Huawei’s investment in research and development puts it in a leading position. For example, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei asked the R & D team to reduce the weight of 5G radio equipment from 45kg to 25kg in order to install it without a crane.

Responding to U.S. accusations against Huawei of consolidating its dominance in the market by encouraging employees to steal the intellectual property of other companies, Scanlon replied, “I read it in the newspaper.” That means it is true. “

Stryer didn’t think Huawei was ahead of its competitors in terms of technical quality.

He said: “They carried out large-scale publicity to convince people around the world that Huawei is the only option. This is simply not true.”

“Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung all provide products of the same quality without threatening personal and business information.”

Stryer insisted that the United States would continue to talk to Britain on this issue and believed that it would eventually find a way forward.

Huawei’s Scanlon said the Chinese company would stay in the UK.

There will always be a failure.