Technology
China is promising 'necessary' steps in response to the ban on Huawei in the United Kingdom
(Reuters) China will take the necessary measures in response to the UK's "discriminatory" ban on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, which has severely damaged China's investment confidence in the country, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.
"China is evaluating the actions of the United Kingdom that have betrayed the principles of free trade and will take the necessary measures to resolutely defend the legal rights of Chinese firms," Gao Feng, spokesperson of the Ministry, said in a weekly briefing without giving details.
Earlier Wednesday, China warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that his decision to bar Huawei from the 5 G network would cost Britain a great deal of investment.
Johnson requested that Huawei's equipment be entirely purged from Britain's 5 G network by 2027, a move that China sees as a result of U.S. political pressure. President Donald Trump, please.
Britain has lost its independence in the matter of Huawei, China's foreign ministry said, adding that the British government should take responsible decisions in line with its long-term interests.
Gao urged Britain to "correct its wrong behavior" and to protect its good trade ties with China.
Trump said he was responsible for Johnson's Huawei decision, but Britain denied it and said it was motivated by its own security concerns and concerns that supplies of Huawei equipment could be interrupted by U.S. sanctions.
In January, Britain granted Huawei a limited role in its 5G roll-out.
The United States argues that Huawei, the world's largest manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, is an agent of the Communist State of China and can not be trusted.
Huawei refuses to spy on China, saying that the United States wants to thwart its production, because no US company could offer the same technology at a competitive price.
Reuters; Reporting by Yawen Chen and Cate Cadell; Additional Reporting by Xu Jing and Se Young Lee; Editing by Robeert Birsel
