US: Germany gets less intelligence if Huawei supplies 5G network equipment

The United States government has informed the German government that it will receive less intelligence if Germany partners with China’s Huawei as a supplier of equipment for the 5G networks in the country.

US Ambassador to Germany, Richard A. Grenell, has written a letter to the German economy minister with this warning, the WSJ writes. This medium states that it has seen the letter. If Huawei gets the green light in Germany, intelligence sharing will not remain at its current level, the ambassador said.

The United States is trying to convince allies not to do business with Huawei, for fear that the company can spy for the Chinese government through its equipment. However, this is the first time that the Trump administration has issued such warnings. In the fight against terrorism, US intelligence is very important to European intelligence services.

This warning to Germany is not without reason. Germany is reportedly considering allowing Huawei equipment for 5G networks, partly based on the finding that there is no evidence that Huawei could use its equipment for espionage purposes.

Earlier there were also rumors that the British intelligence, based on unpublished research, believes that the risk of using Huawei’s 5G equipment is manageable. The Portuguese provider Altice already concluded a cooperation agreement with Huawei at the end of last year for the creation of a 5G network.