Predictions
- UK ban on Huawei will embolden further restrictions by US and EU, but impact on broader bilateral trade will be limited
- Huawei will continue to pursue investments abroad, including in UK and EU, but growing scrutiny of Beijing’s foreign influence will raise reputational risks
- Beijing will avoid major retaliation against foreign firms, focusing instead on boosting domestic consumption and relations with friendly countries
Event
The UK government said on 14 July it will ban purchases of 5G mobile network equipment from Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from the start of 2021, and will require all domestic telecoms providers to remove Huawei products from their 5G networks by 2027. The decision does not include non-5G technology supplied by the company. The same day, two of Huawei’s UK board members resigned, including its chairman Lord Browne. This followed an independent investigation funded by a US film producer which alleged on 6 July that Huawei ran a fake public relations campaign targeting several UK politicians and executives, including Huawei UK board members, to support its growth in the country.
Falanx Assynt is a global intelligence consultancy and leading provider of geopolitical, strategic and business risk analysis since 2003. Falanx Assynt is part of Falanx Group Ltd (LON:FLX) which, through its subsidiaries, provides cyber defence and intelligence services to blue chip and government clients worldwide.
