China Threatens Germany on Looming Huawei Ban

Chinese ambassador in Germany warned that his country could to retaliate if Germany decides to ban Huawei from its 5G rollouts. Ambassador Wu Ken said there would be consequences if Germany was to take a decision that leads to Huawei’s exclusion. He warned that Chinese government would not stand idly by.

It is not clear what actions they may take, but Wu noted around a quarter of the 28 million cars sold in China each year are produced by German manufacturers. He has explained that if China would suddenly declare those vehicles are “no longer safe“ because Chinese manufacturers could produce their own models, that would be “pure protectionism“.

Huawei’s involvement in Germany’s 5G rollouts continues to be questioned as resistance grows among certain members of the government. Germany had looked to be on course to allow Huawei to provide 5G equipment after Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a proposed security framework in October, which outlined intentions not to impose a blanket ban on any single provider. But Merkel faced fresh opposition, with her China policy challenged by some politicians who instead proposed a bill which would impose a ban on untrustworthy 5G vendors, with Huawei in the firing line.