A red telephone booth on Middle Huaihai Road in downtown Shanghai has been transformed into a 5G mini base station. Near the station, the 5G network speed is stable at around 800Mbps - 10 to 20 times the speed of the 4G network. Photo: cnsphoto

It won't be smart for the UK to reverse its policy under US pressure and kick Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei out of its 5G rollout, as media reports claim. The nation can't afford the implications, from the industry impact to the harm done to the mutual trust in China-UK ties, experts warn.

The British government is conducting a new review into the impact of allowing Huawei equipment to be used in British 5G networks with the involvement of the National Cyber Security Center, the BBC reported. 

Separately, The Telegraph reported on Friday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to reduce the role of Huawei in the UK's 5G network in the coming years, and Johnson has instructed officials to draft plans that would reduce Huawei's involvement in building the UK's 5G phone network to zero by 2023.

Victor Zhang, Huawei's vice president, said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday, "We've seen the reports from unnamed sources which simply don't make sense. The government decided in January to approve our part in the 5G rollout, because the UK needs the best possible technologies, more choices, innovation and more suppliers, all of which mean more secure and more resilient networks."

The UK decided in January to let Huawei continue its role in the country's 5G networks, but with restrictions - the company was excluded from providing the "core" 5G gears, despite pressure from the US to crack down on the Chinese firm.

Huawei has operated in the UK for 20 years. "Our priority has been to help mobile and broadband companies keep the UK connected, which in this current health crisis has been more vital than ever. This is our proven track record," Zhang said.

If the UK finally chooses to bow to pressure from the US, which is relentlessly squeezing Huawei, by playing the Chinese firm as its shield card, it would be a mistake and a case of playing with fire for the UK, industry insiders told the Global Times. 

If the UK government decides to phase Huawei telecom equipment out, it means its mobile operators need to face a cost surge of up to hundreds of millions of pounds in terms of construction, operation and maintenance, said Ma Jihua, an industry veteran analyst.

Three out of four of the UK's mobile networks - Vodafone, EE and Three - had already decided to use and have deployed Huawei's 5G equipment.

"UK has always wanted to be a frontrunner in Europe in 5G, but progress is seriously hampered by the COVID-19 crisis. If Huawei is not allowed to play its role, that would only make the situation worse - the UK's 5G development could be stalled," Ma noted.

"If situation worsens, the possibility that Huawei moves its headquarters in the UK to continental Europe cannot be ruled out, which could have a huge negative impact on the island country. Many Chinese firms are likely to follow Huawei's move and leave the UK market," said Ma.

Ma predicted that the UK will ultimately not abandon cooperation with Huawei after weighing its own interests despite mounting pressure from the Trump government and some domestic voices, especially involving the new security laws covering China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, an issue on which China won't back off.

The UK, which has just left the EU bloc, has an essential need to cooperate with China on many fronts including investment and trade, and the two countries had started a feasibility study on a bilateral trade and investment pact before the outbreak of the coronavirus, Cui Hongjian, director of EU studies at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Cui urged the UK and EU to consider the issue carefully, based on their own interests instead of blindly following the US orders. 


Newspaper headline: Move to hamper 5G drive