US Warns Germany About Using Huawei To Build 5G Network

A major player in the trade war between the U.S. and China has been Huawei, China’s telecommunication leader. The company has taken legal action against the U.S. and Canada after filing a lawsuit on March 1 against the Canadian government because of the arrest and possible extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and then on March 6 it sued the U.S. government over a law that banned federal agencies from using its equipment.

Tensions between Huawei and the U.S. escalated this week after the Wall Street Journal reviewed a letter from the U.S. Ambassador to Germany that warned of using Huawei’s 5G infrastructure would lead to a curtailing of intelligence.

The development comes after German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said the country wouldn’t outright ban Huawei, rather it would change laws to ensure 5G tech is secure when built.

The State Department's issues with Huawei are mostly due to its ties to Chinese intelligence agencies and concerns of spying on different countries through its network access. The warning to Germany was also issued to several other U.S. allies about using Huawei’s telecom infrastructure.

Other countries have also had issues with Huawei. Australia and New Zealand have blocked Huawei from access to 5G networks in their country, while Japan and Italy have considered following suit. In January, Poland Internal Security Agency arrested a Huawei executive under suspicions of spying for China.

Huawei has denied allegations that it has spied for the Chinese government.