The Czech cyber security watchdog's warning against devices made by the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker, China-based Huawei, are not representative of the Eastern European nation's government, according Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
The Czech National Security Council reversed the decision in a meeting held on Friday, saying that the “security threat” warning had no tech basis. The council said that the Czech Republic welcomes all kinds of foreign investment.
The National Security Council has denied the warning, Babis told Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jianmin in Prague yesterday. The embassy also made a post online today, saying the Czech Republic welcomes Chinese and other foreign firms to do business or invest there.
Babis ordered his government office to stop using Huawei phones on Dec. 18, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other agencies quickly followed suit, the Associated Press reported. That made the Czech Republic the first Eastern European country to ban the Huawei products behind the US, Australia and Japan.
The move was based on the National Cyber and Information Security Agency's Dec. 17 warning about telecoms equipment made by Huawei and its compatriot rival ZTE, the report added.
Huawei welcomed the government's reversal of the decision, with Huawei's President for European Business Li Jian saying he believes the firm's cooperation with Czech partners will not be affected”. He hopes “Huawei will not be harmed by baseless accusations again,”
In his meeting with leading global media at the company’s new campus at Dongguan last week, Huawei Rotating Chairman Ken Hu rejected allegations about the company network security saying: “No evidence has been presented to back the allegations up, and no one can improve by locking out competition”.
“Some security concerns based on the technology for 5G were very legitimate, but able to be clarified or mitigated through collaboration with operators and governments”. Ken clarified.
“Almost all network customers have indicated they want Huawei, which is currently the market leader with the best equipment and will remain so for at least the next 12 to 18 months, for faster and more cost-effective upgrades to 5G”. Ken added, showing confidence in Huawei's business growth and prospects, citing the trust of hundreds of network operators, nearly half of the world's Fortune 500 companies, and hundreds of millions of consumers. Huawei's 2018 revenue, he said, was expected to exceed US$100 billion.
Source: Press Release