US to offer developing countries aid to ditch Huawei
The US is planning to offer billions of dollars in loans to developing countries in the hope of persuading them to use Western alternatives to Chinese companies, such as Huawei and ZTE, when building the 5G networks.
The US Agency for International Development, which normally helps nations with food security or water supply, is leading the effort, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
In Africa and the Middle East, China’s Huawei and ZTE currently hold more than 50pc market share. Huawei has won deals to supply 5G equipment to South Africa. It has also supplied other technology, such as facial recognition systems in Uganda.
Bonnie Glick, of the US Agency for International Development, told the Wall Street Journal that it will warn developing countries of what the alleged cybersecurity risks of using Huawei equipment.
It will also warn them against using Chinese finance agencies, such as the state-controlled China Development Bank, because the fine print may their national assets at risk.
She said: “Countries are left in a tremendous amount of debt, and China takes over control of national assets.”
US plans to offer alternatives to Huawei could provide a boost to Finland’s Nokia, Sweden’s Ericsson and South Korea’s Samsung, which are all building 5G kit to rival the Chinese vendor.
Washington has been lobbying allies in Europe to shun Huawei over concerns about cyber espionage. It claims Chinese companies such as Huawei might be obliged to spy for Beijing and steal trade secrets - an accusation that Huawei has rejected.
In July, the UK said that it would ban all Huawei kit from its 5G telecoms network by 2027 due to US sanctions on the company which it said risked causing gaps in supplies of vital components from the Chinese firm.
