Germany Mulls Banning Use Of Huawei Products In 5G Network Development - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) The German government is reviewing ways to exclude China's Huawei telecom giant from the development of its 5G network due to the company's alleged cooperation with Chinese security services, local media reported on Thursday.

Huawei has recently faced allegations that it had been linked to the Chinese government. Last year, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States have banned the Chinese telecommunications giant from participating in government contracts.

The Financial Times newspaper reported, citing the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, that the concrete measures to strengthen security of the national 5G network were still not defined. According to the newspaper, the government might introduce strict security requirements for the 5G build out that will be extremely difficult for Huawei to comply with.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in the Canadian city of Vancouver on December 1, 2018, reportedly, for failing to comply with the US sanctions against Iran, and now faces extradition to the United States. The arrest was decried by Beijing, which demanded that Canadian authorities immediately release the Chinese national.

Just a few days after Meng's arrest, Chinese authorities detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor for allegedly posing a threat to the country's security. Beijing denied, however, that the detention had anything to do with Meng's case.