China asks not to discriminate against Huawei
The deployment of 5G has become an international geopolitical issue. And the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in France is concerned about "recent reports in several French media that the competent French authorities are considering taking restrictive measures against Huawei in the deployment of 5G in France".
It recalls that the French President and senior officials have stated in this press release that, with regard to 5G, "France would not take discriminatory measures against any specific country or company, nor would it exclude Huawei".
These fears of espionage are unfounded for China. "In reality, Huawei's 5G equipment is totally reliable and has never presented any technical or security risks, nor left any 'back door'," said the spokesman.
China says it is counting on France "to take concrete action and create an open, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for companies from all countries, including China".
Last Friday, Orange announced that it had selected European groups Nokia and Ericsson as equipment suppliers for the deployment of a 5ᵉ generation mobile network in metropolitan France.
Within the French telecoms sector, the prevailing sentiment is that the French authorities want to ban Huawei from the 5G market but will not say so publicly.
For its part, the European Commission has published its directives refusing to exclude the Chinese group, while allowing member countries to ban equipment manufacturers they deem to be "high risk".
Several operators say they fear that excluding Huawei will lead to delays and additional costs in the deployment of 5G.
Source : Challenges