China asks Britain to make independent choice on Huawei

Says Huawei’s investment in Britain has surpassed £2b with jobs for over 10,000 people

BEIJING: A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has called on the United Kingdom to make an independent choice on whether to include Huawei in its 5G telecoms network.

“We hope that the British side will adopt an objective and fair attitude and make an independent choice that serves its own interests,” Hua Chunying told a press briefing while answering questions about former British Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright’s remarks on Huawei last month.

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Huawei’s investment in Britain has surpassed £2 billion with employment for over 10,000 people, Hua said, noting that the Chinese telecom company has established a joint research centre in Britain and is active in performing its corporate social responsibility.

Hua said an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment is crucial for Chinese companies to maintain confidence and expectations on investing in Britain.

Responding to questions about whether HSBC will be included in a “list of unreliable entities” by the Chinese government for its investigation into Huawei in proactive cooperation with the US government, Hua said the list is still undergoing relevant procedures. China welcomes foreign investment in the country and will continue to protect legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies. “Meanwhile, any company’s operation in China must be legal,” Hua said, noting that violations will be addressed in accordance with the law.

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Huawei has been on a US trade blacklist since May. Washington’s trade blacklist bars American firms from selling tech and software to Huawei unless they get a licence to do so.

US says the company is a national security concern. Huawei denies that is the case and says none of its products pose a national security risk.

This article originally appeared on the China Economic Net 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2019.

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