Amid a US versus Huawaei row of slapping each other with court suits, the American government has taken the battle a notch higher, capping Grmany’s engagement with the Chinese tech giant.
The US has now underscored to Germany its threat to limit intelligence sharing with countries that use Chinese tech giant Huawei to build their 5G communications networks.
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell sent a letter to the German government last week threatening to curtail German access to US intelligence if Berlin decides to issue contracts to Huawei, according to a US official familiar with the matter.
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell
“The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy has indeed received a letter; there is no comment on its content from their side. There will be a quick reply,” said Matthias Wehler, spokesperson at the German embassy in DC.
Germany announced March 7 that it wouldn’t ban any company from bidding on 5G contracts.
The letter echoes a steady drumbeat of warnings by top US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, who flagged Huawei’s alleged connections to Chinese intelligence and its ability to compromise national security by selling equipment with “backdoors” that could allow for unauthorized surveillance.
This even as major US wireless carriers and the federal government shun Huawei over national security concerns, its technology is widely deployed by a number of small, federally-subsidized carriers that buy cheaper Chinese-made hardware to place atop their cell towers — in some cases providing exclusive coverage to rural areas close to US military bases.
As the US lobbies against Huawei, now the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, the issue is straining US ties with some allies and is becoming a potent irritant in a US-China relationship already strained by trade friction.