Portugal would not exclude Chinese companies from supplying technology for the country’s next-generation 5G wireless network, senior Portuguese officials told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday.
Portugal is the latest EU nation to resist US efforts to persuade allies that they should shun Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) bids to provide the hardware that operators are to use for the new ultra-fast 5G networks.
The Chinese government “won’t hesitate” to use Huawei as a back door to sensitive data, Pompeo told a news conference with Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva.
Each country has to make its own decision about such issues, Pompeo said, but added: “We have tried for these past couple of years to make clear to our friends all around the world of the attendant risks.”
Santos Silva said bids from 5G operators would be assessed in the light of strict Portuguese and EU regulations.
Market-leading wireless carrier Altice Portugal last year partnered with Huawei to develop 5G technology as it prepares to launch service next year.
European countries have been caught in the middle of a geopolitical battle over 5G networks, as Washington lobbies its allies to avoid Huawei because of suspicions the company could be used by Beijing for cyberespionage — allegations that the company has denied.
Hungary last month announced that Huawei would take part in the construction of its 5G wireless network.
Those decisions have contributed to at times strained relations between Washington and the EU, although there are signs that Europe is starting to take the US concerns more seriously.
The Dutch government on Thursday said in its plans to auction 5G frequencies that wireless companies could ban equipment suppliers with connections to foreign governments or intelligence agencies involved in spying.
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