Huawei’s 5G ambitions under pressure in Britain over Xinjiang

Parliamentarians call on foreign secretary to scrutinise tech company’s alleged links to troubled region

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Huawei is looking to Europe for growth after coming under pressure in the United States. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:45pm, 24 Dec 2019Updated: 3:50am, 25 Dec 2019

More than a dozen British parliamentarians have called on the country’s foreign secretary to exclude Huawei Technologies from building Britain’s 5G network over the company’s alleged links to the troubled Chinese region of Xinjiang.

The political pressure caps a tumultuous year for the Chinese technology giant as it looks to Europe for growth after being shut out of the United States amid security concerns.

In recent weeks, Huawei has been facing escalating scrutiny in three major European economies: Britain, Germany and Italy.

In a letter to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, 13 British parliamentarians cited an Australian think tank’s claim that Huawei provided police in Xinjiang with technical support and training.

[Boris Johnson’s] decision over Huawei will set the tone for his premiership, especially in relation to human rights

Labour Party MP Sarah Champion

In their letter, the parliamentarians, led by Conservative Tom Tugendhat, said the British government “cannot and must not” deal with the Shenzhen-based company until allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang “are comprehensively dismissed”.

Labour Party politician Sarah Champion, one of the letter’s signatories, said that for Britain to even consider Huawei for its 5G contract “we need independent scrutiny of the company’s human rights record including assurances that it isn’t involved in the persecution of Uygur Muslims”.