A group of key House Republicans released a resolution Monday denouncing Britain’s decision to allow Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to construct a portion of the country’s advanced fifth-generation (5G) network.
Last week’s decision by the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson angered the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers, who claimed Huawei’s ties to China’s military and intelligence agencies making a major security risk. The Trump administration has been pressing allies for months to ban Huawei from their 5G networks, with mixed results
The resolution was backed by Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheyney of Wyoming.
“We are extremely disappointed that the United Kingdom seems poised to allow [Chinese Communist Party-controlled] Huawei to build much of their next-generation 5G networks,” the GOP lawmakers said. “Huawei equipment is absolute poison — providing them access to any aspect of a 5G network compromises the integrity of the entire system and will result in network data being sent back” to the Chinese government.
Huawei has denied the Trump administration charges, and hailed the British decision last week to allow it to work on a portion of Britain’s new telecommunications network. Other U.S. allies, notably Germany and Canada, are still weighing whether to work with Huawei, widely considered the global market leader in 5G technology.
“Our special relationship with the U.K. is built on our shared commitment to freedom and security,” the Republican lawmakers said. “The Chinese Communist Party — and by extension Huawei — is an affront to these core democratic principles.”
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