Germany opens the door to Huawei, with conditions

Germany’s cabinet yesterday sent legislation to the Bundestag that will allow China’s national champion Huawei to build 5G networks in Europe’s largest economy, under strict security guarantees. Washington had lobbied Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to exclude the Chinese firm altogether.

The proposed legislation would make Huawei and other providers of network gear financially liable for compromised security. It would also give German security agencies complete network access to determine the networks’ integrity.

American media decried the proposed German law as “a setback for the outgoing U.S. administration,” as William Boston wrote in the Wall Street Journal. The Merkel government might have decided differently if Donald Trump had been re-elected.

Asia Times broke this story in the global media on Nov. 30 (Huawei hits 5G critical mass with Germany’s approval), after copies of the proposed law leaked in Germany.