Huawei detailed plans to establish a 5G production base in Europe, in an effort to improve the region’s confidence in the security of its equipment, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Abraham Liu, Huawei’s chief representative to the EU Institutions, told the news agency it already had a shortlist of locations and the process is ongoing.
Former European Commission VP Viviane Reding said the move would “of course” boost confidence in Huawei’s 5G equipment, with the application of European rules “a boost to credibility”, Xinhua News Agency wrote.
Huawei’s move comes a week after the UK government cleared it to continue to supply equipment for 5G networks but, as expected, the vendor will be shut out from core parts of the infrastructure.
The decision could potentially spark a row with the US, which pushed for the UK and other nations to follow its lead by banning the vendor on national security grounds.
Last week, the European Commission published a slate of recommendations designed to ensure security of 5G infrastructure in member states, while placing the onus on individual countries to assess the role of the vendors involved in supplying core network equipment.
It recommends operators limit dependency on any one supplier with a multi-vendor strategy, similar to policies recently outlined by the UK.
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