Trump on UK's Huawei ban: 'I did this myself'
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[July 15, 2020] LONDON
(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was responsible for
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G
network from the end of 2027, a remark China said proved London's move
was about politics rather than security.
As Britain prepares to cast off from the European Union, fears over the
security of Huawei have forced Johnson to take sides in the global
rivalry between the United States and China.
Johnson on Tuesday ordered Huawei equipment to be purged completely from
Britain's 5G network by the end of 2027, risking the ire of China by
signalling that the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker was not
welcome in the West.
"We convinced many countries, many countries - I did this myself for the
most part - not to use Huawei, because we think it's an unsafe security
risk, it's a big security risk," Trump told reporters at a news
conference in the White House Rose Garden.
"I talked many countries out of using it: if they want to do business
with us, they can't use it. Just today, I believe that UK announced that
they're not going to be using it."
Trump identifies China as the United States' main geopolitical rival,
and has accused the Communist Party-ruled state of taking advantage over
trade and not telling the truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak,
which he has termed the "China plague".
Britain denied that Trump alone was responsible for the Huawei ban,
while China said the remark showed the decision was about geopolitics
rather than security.
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Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomes U.S. President
Donald Trump at the NATO leaders summit in Watford, Britain December
4, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Pool/File Photo
Asked about the comments, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News:
"Well, we all know Donald Trump don't we."
China was tougher.
"This once again demonstrates that the relevant bans on Huawei are completely
unrelated to national security, rather this is highly politicised manipulation,"
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in Beijing.
"This once again allows everyone to see clearly the one who is issuing threats
here, there and everywhere is perhaps not China but the U.S.," she said.
While Huawei said Johnson's decision would put Britain into the digital slow
lane, China said London had sided with Washington to exclude Chinese companies.
"This mistaken decision seriously hurts the interests of Chinese companies and
seriously hits the foundation of mutual trust for cooperation between the UK and
China," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in London and Martin Pollard in Beijing; Editing
by Michael Holden and Alex Richardson)
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