LONDON – The British government on Tuesday handed the U.S. government a major defeat in its months-long campaign against the Chinese tech giant Huawei by agreeing to use Huawei equipment in part of its telecommunications network.
The decision marked a rare split between the transatlantic allies and a blow to Washington as it battles China for dominance over the installation of the new communications technology known as 5G.
The United States has put Huawei at the forefront of that battle, arguing that installing the company’s telecommunications equipment would leave allied countries vulnerable to Chinese espionage.
China critics in the United States quickly panned the announcement and warned that sit could damage U.S.-U.K. trade relations.
“This decision has the potential to jeopardize US-UK intelligence sharing agreements and could greatly complicate a US-UK free trade agreement,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a tweet. “I hope the British government will reconsider its decision.”
“America has never been weaker,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “We have never had less influence. Not even our closest ally, Britain, with a Trump soulmate in Downing Street, listens to us anymore.”
British officials portrayed those reactions as overwrought. They noted that the decision limits Huawei’s market share of Britain’s “non-core” 5G network to 35%, labels it a “high risk” vendor and bars the use of its equipment in “core” parts of the network, including intelligence, military and nuclear sites.
“We have looked at the issue of how to maintain network security and resilience over many months and in great technical detail,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. “We would never take decisions that threaten our national security or the security of our Five Eyes partners,” a reference to the intelligence sharing consortium that includes Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Other British government officials scoffed at suggestions that Washington might reduce intelligence-sharing with its key ally because of security concerns with Huawei in the 5G network.
“There is absolutely no reason” for the United States to lessen intelligence-sharing “because this [decision] upholds the security of our 5G network,” said one who requested anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, adding that intelligence is exchanged on separate, highly secure systems. “So there is absolutely no reason why intelligence-sharing should be called into question by this decision.”
Still, the British decision shows the challenges the Trump administration faces as it asks countries to pick a side in the battle over Huawei. Germany, Brazil and other nations are still deciding how and whether to use Huawei equipment in the super-fast 5G wireless networks they are building.
“I worry the U.K. decision could potentially be a preview of other decisions around the world,” said Kelly Magsamen, a former Pentagon official who also served on the National Security Council during the Obama and George W. Bush administrations.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a former communications executive, suggested in a statement that the decision shows the need for the U.S. and its allies to work together “to build more diverse and secure telecommunication options.”
Huawei is the world’s leading provider of 5G equipment. The other major providers are Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson. There are no major U.S.-based providers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired the meeting of Britain’s National Security Council, where the plan was approved. The British government will now seek to legislate the proposals through Parliament. It is possible that the House of Commons could amend Johnson’s plan – loosening or strengthening Huawei’s hand. But after a landslide win in last month’s general election for Johnson and his Conservative Party, the government can count on parliamentary approval for most of its proposals.
Huawei, which has dismissed U.S. security concerns as unfounded, described Britain’s announcement Tuesday as a win.
“This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secure and more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future. It gives the U.K. access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitive market,” Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang said in a statement.
In a telephone call after the decision was announced, Trump and Johnson “underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies,” a Downing Street spokesman said via email.
The U.K. decision follows months of pressure from U.S. officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Sunday that Britain had a “momentous decision ahead on 5G.” On Friday, Trump called Johnson to talk about Huawei.
And in meetings in London this month, top national-security and State Department officials warned that the U.S. would have to reassess whether Britain could sufficiently protect shared intelligence if it let Huawei into its 5G network. The British press quoted the officials saying that using Huawei gear would be “nothing short of madness.”
Major U.K. telecommunications companies such as British Telecom already use Huawei gear in their 3G and 4G networks, and Britain does not want to fall behind in the 5G world.
“The British public deserve to have access to the best possible technology,” Johnson said in a BBC interview earlier this month. “On the other hand, let’s be clear. I don’t want, as the U.K. prime minister, to put in any infrastructure that is going to prejudice our national security or our ability to cooperate with Five Eyes intelligence partners.”
Foreign minister Raab said the lack of a wide choice of providers played a part in the decision. “Currently, the U.K. faces a choice of only three major players to supply key parts of our telecoms networks,” he said. “It is a market failure that must be addressed,” he said, adding that the U.K. planned to support new technology that could help diversify the market.
“It is essential that we are never again in a position of having such limited choices when deploying such important new technologies,” Raab said.
The coming super-fast 5G networks are expected to power the “Internet of things,” enabling industrial, transport and everyday devices to be connected, to “talk” to one another and to share data constantly, powering future technologies such as driverless cars and smart household appliances.
The U.S. has taken several steps to try to isolate Huawei. Last year it banned the sale of some U.S. technology to Huawei. It has also blocked the Chinese company from installing telecom equipment in the United States.
Japan and Australia effectively also have banned Huawei from their 5G networks.
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