The US is at a meeting in Prague next month to push its allies to adopt shared security and policy measures that would make it more difficult for China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (華為) to dominate 5G telecommunications networks, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by reporters.
The event and the broader US campaign to limit the role of Chinese telecommunications firms in the build out of 5G networks comes as Western governments grapple with the national security implications of moving to 5G, which promises to be at least 100 times faster than 4G networks.
The issue is crucial because of 5G’s leading role in Internet-connected products ranging from self-driving vehicles and smart cities to augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
If the underlying technology for 5G connectivity is vulnerable then it could allow hackers to exploit such products, to spy or disrupt them.
The US has been meeting with allies to warn them that Washington believes Huawei’s equipment could be used by the Chinese state to spy.
Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Officials from more than 30 nations are to meet on May 2 and May 3 to agree on security principles for next-generation telecoms networks, said Robert Kahofer, chief of Cabinet at Czech cybersecurity agency NUKIB.
A US official familiar with the plan said the Prague meeting marks a strategic shift in how the US government plans to urge allies to drop Huawei and other 5G vendors, which Washington believes pose a risk to national security.
The official described the approach as “softer.”
A Huawei spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US proposals for the Prague meeting urge governments and operators to consider the legal environment in a vendor’s nation, how much state support a company receives, transparency of corporate structure and trustworthiness of equipment.
It also calls on partners to prioritize security and work together on investigations into cyberattacks aimed at 5G architecture.
The documents do not mention Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, by name, but US officials said that they hoped it would provide the “intellectual framework” needed for other nations to effectively bar Chinese vendors.
In August last year, US President Donald Trump signed a bill that barred the US government itself from using Huawei and ZTE Corp (中興) equipment.
“The goal is to agree upon a set of shared principles that would ensure the security of next-generation telecommunications networks,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The Prague conference has been organized by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs with support from NUKIB, Kahofer said.
The ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Delegations from all of the EU’s 28 member states, as well as the European Commission, NATO and about eight other nations, including the US and Australia, are expected to attend, Kahofer said.
China and Russia have not been invited, he said, but added that the event was not “an anti-Huawei or anti-China conference.”
Europe has emerged as a key battleground for the future of 5G, with the US pushing allies and partners to bar Chinese vendors, but European governments are wary of the trade and economic consequences of angering Beijing.
Internet service providers have also warned that banning Huawei would incur huge costs and delay the rollout of 5G by years.
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