France is planning a bill amendment to empower its security and defence watchdogs to make retroactive checks to telecoms operators’ equipment, targeting China’s Huawei, Les Echos newspaper reported.
French parliament would discuss an amendment to a broad deregulation bill in order to bar China’s Huawei Technologies from accessing next-generation mobile networks on national security grounds.
Despite international pressure on its business, Huawei has secured 30 contracts to supply 5G equipment and shipping 25,000 5G base stations already – up from 25 contracts in December 2018.
Other developments
Huawei has expanded its international communications team by 25 percent to 30 people over the past six months.
Huawei’s president of global media and communications, Joy Tan, has moved to Washington to run media and government relations operations there, while Song Kai, former deputy CEO of Huawei U.S. and former CEO of Huawei France, has moved back to headquarters to take over Tan’s role.
Huawei’s Washington office has more than halved in size over the past year to low single-digit regular staff members.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Huawei Canada’s vice president of corporate affairs had left the company as scrutiny of the firm increased.
“Canada’s government should ignore the threats and ban Huawei from Canada’s 5G networks to protect the security of Canadians,” Richard Fadden, who served as the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy agency from 2009 to 2013, wrote in the Globe and Mail.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Monday told reporters that other companies could supply equipment for future 5G networks but did not give details.
Canada recently arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wenzhou and daughter of the founder over alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
