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KT edit: US charges against Huawei will peg back its 5G ambitions

China makes no secret of its ambition to be the world leader in 5G technology that is expected to drive everything from home appliances to corporate supercomputers.

On Monday, US prosecutors filed criminal charges against Chinese company Huawei. It covered bank fraud, sanction violations against Iran, and theft of trade secrets. The US isn't the only country that views Huawei with suspicion. Other Western nations are wary of the company for its alleged links to the Chinese government. Australia and New Zealand have barred Huawei from supplying parts for their future 5G networks. Japan, Britain and Canada are considering doing the same. Poland, last month, charged a Huawei executive with spying (he was later sacked from the company).
Vodaphone, which is among the top five telecom operators in the world, has stopped the installation of Huawei equipment in its core networks in Europe. Other major mobile carriers are expected to follow suit. Amid growing concerns of espionage, it might be hard for the company to assuage fears of western governments and global telecom players. China makes no secret of its ambition to be the world leader in 5G technology that is expected to drive everything from home appliances to corporate supercomputers. And it is companies like Huawei that promote such plans.
Huawei and ZTE, the two big players in the Chinese telecom space, though privately owned, are viewed as extensions of the Chinese government. Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei was an engineer in China's People's Liberation Army and started the firm after leaving the military. Richard McGregor, author of The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers, claims in his book that the company has received state support at crucial points in its evolution. Data is the new oil that every government wants to get hold of.
The European Union, the US and the UK run covert data collection programmes. However, western democracies have checks in place that can hold governments or leaders accountable for any misuse of information. This confidence is missing with respect to the Chinese, who have played by their own rules. Huawei's founder, a recluse, made a rare appearance at the company's headquarters recently to insist his company's activities were above board but that didn't convince his detractors in the West. How can they be convinced when suspicions against the Chinese government run deep? Little wonder then that it's hard to give Huawei the benefit of doubt.