Russia reportedly has no plans to follow the US and the UK to ban Huawei 5G equipment in the country. As per a report from the Interfax news agency (via Reuters), the Chinese telecom giant could be part of Russia’s 5G networks.
The report cites Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that Moscow officials are ready to cooperate with China and Huawei on 5G technology. Lavrov had previously said that the trade standoff between the US and China is not in the interests of Russia.
Speaking at an online session of the Primakov Readings in July, Lavrov said “the exacerbation of US-China relations does not meet our interests or the interests of the European Union and other countries”. He hopes the world’s two largest economies will be able to ease tensions using diplomatic methods.
Huawei finds support from Russia
The latest statement from the Russian Foreign Minister comes at a time when several big economies around the world are shutting the doors on Huawei’s 5G equipment. Following the US sanctions, countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom have all banned Huawei from developing 5G infrastructure in their respective countries.
The Trump administration insists that Huawei may have a backdoor for the Chinese government. Despite the company repeatedly claiming the otherwise, the American government believes that it poses a threat to national security.
Not only has the US government banned Huawei in the country, but it’s also forcing its allies to follow the same route. However, Russia seemingly has no such concerns and is willing to cooperate with Huawei on 5G technology. The country is interested in working together with the Chinese company to develop modern technologies including 5G. The world’s largest 5G equipment provider may have just found much-needed support from the world’s biggest country.
The US isn’t backing off
The American government’s sanctions on Huawei don’t just limit to 5G equipment. The world’s largest economy has cut off Huawei from doing business with any American company. In fact, the Chinese telecom giant can’t do business with foreign companies that use American technology or software as well.
Recently, the United States Department of Commerce issued new regulations and updates to restrictions it had imposed on Huawei previously. The new amendments pretty much spell the end for the Chinese company’s in-house Kirin chipsets for smartphones.
That said, Huawei’s smartphone business hasn’t suffered as much by the US bans as many would have hope for. However, it may have to become self-sufficient to survive in the long run. The company is already working on an alternate mobile OS as well as a replacement for Google Mobile Services (GMS). It remains to be seen if Huawei’s Harmony OS and Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) manage to make people switch over from Android and GMS.