Huawei 5G Ban And UK China Relations

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The Big Ban

The UK’s mobile providers are being banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December 2020
They must also remove all the Chinese firm’s 5G kit from their networks by 2027.
The move reverses a decision in January 2020, when Britain said Huawei equipment could be used in its new 5G network on a limited basis.
Reason cited for the ban – National security threat

Huawei is China’s largest private company and the world’s largest telecom equipment producer.
Huawei had deployed 20,000 5G base stations in the UK so far.
Globally, it expects to deliver a total of 500,000 5G base stations this year.
Huawei’s revenue for first half of 2020 – $64.8bn
USA has claimed that Huawei provides a gateway for China to spy on and potentially attack countries that use its equipment, suggestions the company strongly rejects.

The U.K.’s Huawei decision represents a victory for the Trump Administration, which has been trying for years to pressure allies to remove Huawei equipment from their telecoms infrastructures over concerns that the Chinese government could possibly lean on the company to allow it to conduct espionage.
The U.K. had earlier resisted the U.S. government’s requests, amid pressure from telecoms companies who noted Huawei’s equipment was the most advanced and cost-effective.

5G connections are already available in dozens of UK cities and towns, but coverage can be sparse.
£2 Billion in costs
The ban would delay the UK’s 5G rollout by “two to three years”.

Britain will change its immigration rules to allow up to 2.9m Hong Kongers to gain citizenship in Britain.
UK’s wants to strike a trade deal with the US.
Britain’s U turn signals a new willingness among Western countries to confront China.

Punish the UK in order to discourage others from following its lead on 5G.
Avoid being seen as a bully and prefer to try and influence the decision more subtly.

Chinese government is skilled at targeting symbolic and politically sensitive exporters.
Norwegian salmon exports were hit after the Nobel peace prize was awarded to a Chinese dissident.
Australia’s beef and barley exports were choked after it called for an international probe into the coronavirus outbreak.
If China has an appetite to hurt Britain then it has a range of brands and sectors to choose from.
A list of likely targets might include Scotch whisky or Jaguar Land Rover.

The dispute overHuawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, is an early front in a new tech cold war, with ramifications for internet freedom and surveillance, as well as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics.

David Cameron in 2010 hoped his premiership would be the dawn of a “golden era” of Anglo-Chinese relations.
Behind this notion lay the belief that Britain could shape China’s approach to trade and human rights by doing business with it.
That hope has not survived the decade.
Trade and investment have increased, but China has become more repressive at home and more assertive abroad.