The Chinese Embassy in France warned Sunday February 9, Paris against possible “Discriminatory measures” meet the Chinese technological flagship Huawei in the deployment of 5G in France.
Referring in a press release to “Recent reports in several French media”, diplomatic representation evokes “Restrictive measures against Huawei in the deployment of 5G” that France would consider taking.
“We are deeply shocked and worried. President Emmanuel Macron and other senior French officials have repeatedly reaffirmed that on the 5G issue, France would not take discriminatory measures against a specific country or company, nor would it exclude Huawei “, notes the embassy. “So, if the aforementioned information from the French media turns out to be correct, it is clearly contrary to the commitment made by the French government”she continues.
At the end of January, the EU partially opened its door to Huawei to develop 5G, thus defying the Americans who accuse the supplier of spying for the benefit of Beijing.
Number two in the smartphone market, the Chinese has established itself in the development of the ultra-fast 5G mobile internet against its Swedish rivals Ericsson, Finnish Nokia and South Korean Samsung.
Refuting everything “Technical or security risk” equipment from Huawei, the Chinese Embassy in France also notes that “If, for security reasons, the French government really needs to impose constraints on operators, it should establish transparent criteria in this regard and treat all businesses in the same way”. “We do not want to see the development of European companies in the Chinese market affected because of the discrimination and protectionism of France and other European countries with regard to Huawei”, she warns again.
This warning from Beijing comes ten days after the French historic operator, Orange, announced that it would continue its collaboration with European equipment manufacturers Nokia and Ericsson to deploy the antennas of its future 5G network in France.
For its part, Iliad, parent company of Free, has also expressed its wish to renew its agreement with Nokia. In addition, the group wants the government to clarify its position on equipment manufacturers authorized to build future 5G mobile networks in France and wants to keep a ‘Flexibility’ in its choices, said its managing director Thomas Reynaud.
Two other French operators, SFR and Bouygues Télécom, notably use Huawei equipment on their current networks. Their announcements on 5G are expected in the coming weeks, after being validated by the French authorities.
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