The US is looking to stop other countries from working with equipment from Huawei, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. The US government is trying to persuade foreign allies, especially countries where Huawei equipment is already in use, to stop working with the equipment. These countries include Germany, Italy and Japan. US officials have briefed their government counterparts and telecom executives about what they see as cybersecurity risks. The US is even considering the increase of financial aid for telecommunications development in countries that won’t use Chinese-made equipment. Washington has circulated the notes to national-security officials as well as to embassies.
The US is concerned about the use of Chinese telecom equipment in countries that host its military bases, because while the Department of Defense uses its own satellites and telecom network for sensitive communications, most traffic at these bases goes through commercial networks.
Another concern is digital supremacy in general. Some officials see the anti-Chinese equipment campaign as a sort of ‘tech Cold War’. They fear the rise of major tech companies that could work for authoritarian governments, including those hostile to the US. The campaign also comes amid trade tensions between the US and China in general. That said, officials familiar with the current effort say concerns about telecom-network vulnerabilities predate the Trump era and reflect longstanding national-security worries.
