Huawei focus for West's prejudicial view of China: China Daily editorial

A politically-motivated cloud is obviously gathering over China's private telecom technology giant Huawei. It was reported that the telecommunications company Orange has ruled out using Huawei products in its core 5G network in France and Germany's Deutsche Telecom says it's reviewing purchases of Huawei equipment.

Australia and New Zealand have already announced their decision to block Huawei from getting involved in the building of their 5G networks. While in the United Kingdom BT announced the week before last it was stripping Huawei equipment from its core 4G cellular network.

Given the repeated reports about Washington's pushing of its allies to shun Huawei equipment and technology, it is difficult not to view the detention of Huawei's chief financial officer in Canada early this month at the request of the United States as being politically motivated. It is therefore reasonable to believe the reports of a clandestine meeting by the "Five Eyes" countries to plan a way to strangle the development of Huawei.

National security is the excuse they use. Yet none of them have shown any evidence that Huawei's equipment or technology has deliberately been designed to place their national security at risk. There is also no solid evidence that Huawei is using its equipment or technology to gather intelligence for the Chinese government.

Washington would not consider Huawei as nail that must be hammered were the Chinese company not one of the technology leaders in the telecoms industry. Indeed, it probably wouldn't have noticed it, had Huawei not stood out as China has grown to be the world's second largest economy.

It is therefore not how Huawei has fared that is at issue, nor how China has developed. It is how Washington looks at China and Huawei that matters. To put it bluntly, it is Washington's fear that China may overtake the US to be the world's largest economy and a global technology leader in the near future that has alarmed Washington.

It should therefore go without saying that Huawei, a private company that is committed to the development of telecom and mobile communications technology and equipment, has been unfairly treated.

The political bias against Huawei among Western countries is undoubtedly detrimental to the overall development of the telecoms and mobile telecoms sector worldwide, as will not be able to concentrate the most advanced technology and equipment worldwide for its advancement of 5G networks.

We can hardly expect much of what is in store for the development of the world economy and globalization unless the US and its allies change their mentality.