Britain has reportedly decided it can mitigate the risks arising from the use of Huawei Technologies in 5G networks, despite warnings from the US about leaving the telecoms network vulnerable to Chinese espionage.
The conclusion, reached by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), would "carry great weight" with European leaders, the Financial Times reported, citing a source.
"Other nations can make the argument that if the British are confident of mitigation against national security threats then they can also reassure their publics and the US administration that they are acting in a prudent manner in continuing to allow their telecommunications service providers to use Chinese components as long as they take the kinds of precautions recommended by the British," the source told the newspaper.
Huawei, along with another Chinese network equipment company ZTE Corp,, has been accused by the United States of working at the behest of the Chinese government.
The United States, which has said their equipment could be used to spy on Americans, is trying to prevent US companies from buying Huawei routers and switches and is pressing allies such as Britain to do the same.
Huawei has repeatedly denied the claims. Last week, Eric Xu, one of Huawei’s three rotating chairmen, accused Washington DC of launching a “coordinated geopolitical campaign” against the company in order to gain leverage in a trade war.
Earlier this month, the chief of Britain's foreign intelligence service said Britain should avoid relying on a monopoly provider of equipment in new 5G mobile networks, but that there were no easy answers to concerns about using Huawei.
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada in December and faces possible extradition to the United States.
