Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Japan has effectively banned China's Huawei and ZTE from official contracts, following the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer in Canada at the behest of the U.S. government for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. AFP |
By Jung Min-ho
Japan has decided effectively to exclude Chinese telecom equipment providers Huawei and ZTE from public procurement from April over national security concerns.
The decision comes after the United States, Australia and New Zealand barred the use of equipment from the companies in their next-generation 5G infrastructure rollout amid concerns of possible links with China's government.
"It is extremely crucial not to procure equipment that embeds malicious functions including information theft and destruction," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference after meeting cybersecurity officials.
But he did not explicitly name the companies in question, apparently in consideration of the potential impact on diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japan's big three mobile phone carriers ― SoftBank, NTT Docomo and KDDI ― will reportedly take action in line with the decision soon, with company sources saying they will stop using Chinese devices in current mobile base stations and for the 5G mobile communications networks.
E-commerce company Rakuten, which is set become Japan's fourth wireless carrier next year, also said it has no plans to use Chinese telecommunications equipment.
The government said it will not restrict private companies' business decisions over the issue. But with pressure from the government and the U.S. rising, it won't be easy for any company to go against the government move.
Japanese telecoms plan to start testing 5G next year, with the objective of a full-scale rollout of a commercial service in 2020. Carriers need to choose suppliers for orders next spring.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo has expressed strong opposition to the move.
Speaking to journalists at a briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang urged the Japanese government not to discriminate against Chinese companies.
"We urge the Japanese side as always to provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory playing field for Chinese companies' business operations," Lu said. "Chinese enterprises with normal business activities in Japan shouldn't be in any way discriminated against and this is very important."
 |
| A Chinese man holds a sign on Dec. 10 in support of Huawei outside the British Columbia Supreme Court bail hearing of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is being held on an extradition warrant in Vancouver, Canada. Reuters |
All this came days after Meng Wanzhou, 46, Huawei's chief financial officer and the daughter of its founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada, from where she may be extradited to the United States for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The news has touched off a diplomatic firestorm between the world's two largest economies and their allies.
