The US passed a law at the end of 2018 banning the federal government and its agencies from doing business with the Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei. In 2019, the company was added to the US “name list” along with several other subsidiaries and affiliates, greatly restricting the ability of US companies to do business with one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment companies. Some carriers around the world using Huawei’s hardware are doing business with human rights abusers. Telecommunications firms should put themselves on notice: they do business with human rights abusers if they do business with Huawei, said Pompeo. The change is the latest step in the efforts of the U.S. to curb the dominance of Huawei in the U.S. and internationally amid 5G technology roll outs. The United Kingdom joins the U.S. and now many other democracies in becoming ‘safe countries’ nations free from un-trusted 5G vendors. The new visa Huawei ban also comes amid growing US-China political tensions. President Trump announced a day earlier that he had signed legislation sanctioning China for the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong, as well as an executive order that would end US preferential treatment for Hong Kong. Restricting Huawei’s access to u.s. goods could act as a gateway for China to increase its own high-tech production, and step away from its former position as the world’s cheap, low-quality goods factory. The program ‘Made in China 2025’ by the Communist Party aims to do just that.
