Trump says US convinced many nations not to use Huawei; calls China's tech 'untrustworthy'

Hours after the United Kingdom  (UK) banned Huawei from its 5G telecom network, US President Donald Trump welcomed the decision and said that he has convinced many countries not to use Huawei-produced equipment because of its security risk. Trump addressing the reporters in Washington also said that America has confronted "untrustworthy" Chinese technology.

'It is a big security risk'

"We confronted untrustworthy Chinese technology and telecom providers. We convinced many countries not to use Huawei because it's a big security risk. Just today, the UK announced that they are not going to be using it," Trump said. The United States had designated Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE Corp as national security threats, saying they have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and China's military apparatus.

Trump said the US convinced many countries not to use Huawei and welcomed the UK's decision

The UK on Tuesday announced its decision to ban British companies from buying Huawei-produced equipment for 5G networks from the end of the year. Huawei will be completely removed from the UK's 5G networks by the end of 2027, the government announced after a review by the country's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on the impact of US sanctions against the Chinese telecommunications company.

'UK 5G networks will be Huawei free'

The decision was taken at a meeting of the UK's National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in response to new US sanctions against the telecom major imposed in May which removed the firm's access to products which have been built based on US semiconductor technology.

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"No new kit is to be added from January 2021, and UK 5G networks will be Huawei free by the end of 2027. This decisive move provides the industry with the clarity and certainty it needs to get on with delivering 5G across the UK," Oliver Dowden, UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

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Expressing disappointment over UK's decision to ban it from 5G networks, Huawei in a statement issued in Beijing said, "This disappointing decision is bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone. It threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide."

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"Instead of 'levelling up', the government is levelling down and we urge them to reconsider. We remain confident that the new US restrictions would not have affected the resilience or security of the products we supply to the UK," it said. Huawei said its future in the UK has become "politicised". "This is about US trade policy and not security," the statement said.

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(With agency inputs)