Former UK Senior Official Says US Pressure Behind Huawei 5G Equipment Ban

Pro-China Former UK Secretary of State for Business
"Not Related to National Security"

Vince Cable, former UK Secretary of State for Business

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] A former senior British official claimed that the UK’s decision to phase out Huawei’s 5G equipment and services was due to pressure from the US government. He stated that the decision had nothing to do with national security.

According to Euractive, a European local media outlet, on the 18th, Vince Cable, former UK Secretary of State for Business, said at a recent event, "The ban on the Chinese tech giant (Huawei) was decided because the Americans told us to do so."

Earlier, in July 2020, the Boris Johnson government announced a policy to completely remove Huawei products from the UK’s 5G network by the end of 2027, following advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This measure came just months after the US imposed sanctions on Huawei citing its own diplomatic and security concerns. The US blocked Huawei from obtaining key components such as microchips and forced it to develop its own operating system.

Vince Cable, who served as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for five years in the coalition government under David Cameron, is known to have a more China-friendly stance compared to typical UK government officials. He said, "During my tenure as minister, Huawei products were used by intelligence and security services, and it was confirmed that there were no associated risks." He added, "If the UK had maintained 5G with Huawei, we would now be at the forefront of countries using the most advanced technology, but we are not."

Some analysts have suggested that the Huawei sanctions increased the cost burden of infrastructure investment for UK telecom operators. Karen Egan, an analyst at UK research firm Enders Analysis, pointed out, "Telecom companies face limits in endlessly absorbing increased costs from expensive frequency auctions, 5G upgrade expenses, additional costs due to Huawei sanctions, and rising operational costs." The UK’s four major telecom operators?BT Group, Virgin Media, Vodafone Group, and Three UK?are planning to raise monthly fees by around 10% or more in the near future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.