France says Huawei’s investments will not influence its 5G position

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that investments by the Chinese tech giant Huawei will not influence France’s 5G expansion plans.
Last week, Huawei announced that it would open a factory dedicated to 5G equipment in France, for which it would invest at least €200 million and would employ 500 people. Le Maire said that the company’s willingness to open a factory in France would not change “the government’s position on 5G in any way”.
Last month, Abraham Liu, Huawei´s top executive for Europe, announced that the company would set up manufacturing hubs on the continent: “Huawei is more committed to Europe than ever before. We are looking forward to our next 20 years here. That´s why we have decided we want to set up manufacturing bases in Europe”, he said.
Huawei chairman Liang Hua said that “the site will initially manufacture radio equipment and then expand to other products in the future, according to the needs of the European market”.
“Nobody, and certainly not me, gives in to any blackmail whatsoever. There is a very clear position that has been taken on 5G: we do not discriminate against any particular company, whether Chinese or American”, Le Maire said, and added: “But we are simply looking after our security interests and our strategic interests”.
The move comes amid increased US pressure on EU nations to ban Huawei amid security concerns. The EU has recently advised its members to ban telecom operators that are considered a security risk for critical parts of the 5G infrastructure. However, according to the EU’s guidelines, despite the strict 5G rules, a ban on Huawei will be up to member states.
Last month, a Chinese official threatened that if France were to discriminate against Huawei, China could take retaliatory measures, including against European equipment manufacturers Ericsson and Nokia, which are involved in the deployment of 5G in China.