Huawei Masks Donations to Countries Hit by Covid-19 Pandemic
Published on : Saturday 11-04-2020
Huawei, which is playing a key role in the Covid-19 pandemic, has donated 2 million facemasks, along with dozens of computer tablets to health care workers in many European countries. But, the company’s ample donations of crucial medical equipment to Western countries have provoked speculation that it was either publicity or an attempt to pull market access for its 5G mobile networks, which has long been accused by the United States of spying on behalf of China.
Canada and France are the only two major countries that have denied donations of masks from Huawei and are yet to decide on Huawei’s role in their national 5G network infrastructure. They have also reported that these donations of masks will not influence their stand on the company.
Huawei that has been caught in the crossfire of a larger US-China trade and technology war, has quietly delivered masks to several countries worldwide. A US congressman has been indicted the Chinese tech giant’s donations to win favor when it comes to participating in 5G. According to Toronto’s Globe and Mail that reported this week, Huawei is going to provide 6 million masks to Canada, along with other personal protective equipment.
On this step, the United States now has been pressing Canada to obstruct Huawei from installing its fifth-generation mobile phone networks as part of its global effort to choke off the company. The US, which accuses Huawei of spying for Beijing through backdoors in its gear but also has provided scant evidence to prove its claims, reported having told Canada regarding losing its access to top secret intelligence unless it blocked Huawei’s 5G technology.
According to reports, China is currently accelerating its nationwide rollout of 5G mobile services amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In this way, the country’s three telecommunications carriers pledge to complete their infrastructure deployments immediately. While that commitment may have fallen short of the accelerated 5G implementation the central government wanted from China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, industry experts pointed out that it indicated the industry’s confidence about the virus outbreak being contained in the near term.
Reports further said that the telecom industry’s promise comes out after concerns were raised that the installations of 5G base stations across the country are impacted by the pandemic. The buoyancy articulated by the three telecoms carriers also emphasizes China’s efforts to foster consumption and investment, as the country faces an economic slowdown forced by the Covid-19 outbreak and the protracted trade war between the US. and China.
India on Huawei’s 5G Trials
As Huawei is seeking federal approval to be a part of Canada’s 5G rollout, analysts in India have also urged to not let Huawei participate in the 5G trials in the country. The concerns come in the backdrop of reports of China asking coronavirus-hit nations, such as France, to accept Huawei if they want supplies of medical equipment. Countries like America, Australia, among others have already blocked products from Huawei as they suspect threats to their national security.
Last week, Republican lawmaker Mark Green also alleged that China is trying to leverage the donation of a billion protective masks to France to get Huawei into the French 5G infrastructure. Already, China has donated one million masks to France, which is hardly hit by Covid-19 and Europe’s worst-hit countries by the pandemic.
So, as the entire world is fighting against a pandemic that has affected almost countries' economies and expected to bring a recession globally, the wave of donations from Huawei amid ongoing controversy about its 5G network equipment’s security jeopardizes countries. France, the UK, Poland, the Netherlands and others have taken major steps to reduce the amount of Huawei equipment used in networks, and other EU governments have planned to follow suit by end of April under an EU-coordinated process to strengthen 5G security.