Huawei has signed a deal with Russian telecoms firm MTS to develop 5G technology in Russia.

The companies will develop next-generation 5G networks in Russia over the next year.

The deal was agreed as China's President Xi Jinping began a three-day visit to Russia. It comes as some Western countries, led by the US, have blocked the Chinese firm on concerns it poses a national security risk.

The US has encouraged allies to block Huawei - the world's largest maker of telecoms equipment - from their 5G networks, saying the Chinese government could use its products for surveillance.

Huawei rejects this claim and says it is independent from the government.

Still, some countries have blocked Huawei from supplying equipment for 5G mobile networks.

Washington has put Huawei its "entity list", which prohibits US companies from trading with the firm unless they have a licence.

The US move will hurt Huawei, which is also the world's second largest smartphone maker, as it gets half of the chips it uses from US suppliers.

Meanwhile, US companies could lose a key customer and the development of 5G could suffer given Huawei is such an important player in its development.