Huawei To Build 5G Equipment In Europe
Huawei plans to build manufacturing hubs in Europe in order to make its 5G equipment more attractive to EU countries.
“Huawei is more committed to Europe than ever before. We are looking forward to our next 20 years here. That´s why we have decided we want to set up manufacturing bases in Europe”, said Abraham Liu, Huawei´s top executive for Europe.
The move comes amid increased US pressure on EU nations to ban the tech giant. The EU has recently advised its members to ban telecom operators that are considered a security risk for critical parts of the 5G infrastructure.
However, according to the EU’s guidelines, a ban on Huawei will be up to member states, as the EU is attempting to balance the company’s dominance amid the US’ security concerns.
Liu urged Europe, the US and China to “invest more in the political discussion to talk about cooperation and common rules”, adding that the tech world “is increasingly involved in geopolitical issues, trade negotiations and diplomatic dialogue between nations”.
“Politically motivated distrust does not address the upcoming challenges”, Liu said.
Huawei is one of the world's leading network technology suppliers and it is also one of the few companies that can provide 5G mobile technology. Others include Nokia and Ericsson. The company currently has research centers in 12 EU countries and
has signed more than 65 commercial contracts and half of them were from European clients.
Huawei is working with UK, Monaco, France, Malaysia, Russia, and Cambodia on 5G networks and infrastructure.