The US Plot: Huawei challenges countries that banned their 5G equipment to show evidence of security threat

Recently, the US government had banned Huawei from rolling out 5G and they have called upon other countries to do the same over security concerns. Huawei is also barred from selling 5G equipment in Australia, New Zealand and Japan based on suspicion that they are working under the influence of the Chinese government. Huawei has repeatedly denied such claims.

Huawei’s rotating chairman, Ken Hu, had spoken up on the issue during a press conference and called upon governments that had imposed the ban to show evidence of alleged security threats. He also requested for open lines of communications with these governments in order to take action but this hasn’t been the case with many countries. Most recently, Huawei has agreed to security demands in the UK to address risks found in its equipment and software.

The Chairman insists that Huawei has a strong track record when it comes to security. He mentioned that Huawei in over 30 years has never faced a serious cyber security issue and there’s no evidence proving that their equipment was a threat.

Hu also emphasised that Huawei continues to increase their investment in security-related efforts.  They are launching a security centre in Brussels in Q1 2019 as part of a long-term plan to expand cooperation with other governments around the world. Touching on the subject of limited business in the US, he also mentioned that the absence of Huawei and other Chinese equipment in the US could potentially increase the cost of network equipment and that will be passed on to end-users.

The US government has also tried to get Germany to ban Huawei, but they are taking the “innocent until proven guilty” approach. Canada was also expected to impose a ban on Huawei but their Public Safety minister has dismissed such talks as speculation.

When asked about the recent arrest of CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, Hu declined to comment as it is an ongoing case. However, Huawei is confident in the trade compliance measures and the judicial system in Canada and the US. According to Huawei, the case had no impact on executives’ travel plans.

In terms of 5G, Huawei has secured more than 25 commercial contracts and they have shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations to date. They target to achieve a record US$100 billion in total revenue this year.