* PM Johnson to chair National Security Council
* End of 'golden era' as UK set to ban Huawei
* Timing and extent of ban is unclear
* China has warned UK against banning Huawei
* United States wants UK to ban Huawei
(Adds detail)
By Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson is
set to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G network on Tuesday, angering
China but delighting U.S. President Donald Trump by signalling
that the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker is no longer
welcome in the West.
The United States has pushed Johnson to reverse his January
decision to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G, while London has
been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception
China did not tell the whole truth over the coronavirus.
Now, as Britain prepares to cast off from the European
Union, Johnson will risk the ire of the world's second largest
economy by ordering a purge of Huawei equipment which the United
States says could be used to spy on the West.
Johnson chaired a meeting of Britain's National Security
Council (NSC) on Tuesday morning to discuss Huawei. Media
Secretary Oliver Dowden will announce the decision to the House
of Commons at around 1130 GMT.
The immediate excuse for the about turn in policy is the
impact of new U.S. sanctions on chip technology, which London
says affects Huawei's ability to remain a reliable supplier.
"Obviously the context has changed slightly with some of the
sanctions that the U.S. has brought in," Environment Secretary
George Eustice told Sky News when asked about Huawei.
In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with
the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance
is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that
could define the geopolitics of the 21st century.
With faster data and increased capacity, 5G will become the
nervous system of the future economy - carrying data on
everything from global financial flows to critical
infrastructure such as energy, defence and transport.
After Australia first recognised the destructive power of 5G
if hijacked by a hostile state, the West has become steadily
more worried about Huawei. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/huawei-usa-campaign/
White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien is
meeting representatives of France, the UK, Germany and Italy in
Paris this week to discuss security, including 5G.
UK Telecoms firms already had to cap Huawei's role in 5G at
35% by 2023. Reducing it to zero over another two to four years
is now being discussed, though going too fast could disrupt
services and prove costly.
The West is trying to create a group of rivals to Huawei to
build 5G networks. Other large-scale telecoms equipment
suppliers are Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia
.
END OF 'GOLDEN ERA'?
Hanging up on Huawei, founded by a former People's
Liberation Army engineer in 1987, marks the end of what former
Prime Minister David Cameron cast as a "golden era" in ties,
with Britain as Europe's top destination for Chinese capital.
Cameron toasted the relationship over a beer with President
Xi Jinping in an English pub, which was later bought by a
Chinese firm.
Trump, though, has repeatedly asked London to ban Huawei
which Washington calls an agent of the Chinese Communist state -
an argument that has support in Johnson's Conservative Party.
Huawei denies it spies for China and has said the United
States wants to frustrate its growth because no U.S. company
could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.
China says banning one of its flagship global technology
companies would have far-reaching ramifications.
In January, Johnson defied Trump by allowing what he called
high-risk companies' involvement in 5G, capped at 35%.
Huawei and customers including BT, Vodafone
and Three are waiting to see how extensive the new ban
will be and how quickly it will be implemented, with hundreds of
millions of pounds riding on the outcome.
(Writing by Paul Sandle and Guy Faulconbridge
Editing by William Maclean and Peter Graff)
Vodafone (VOD)
BT (BT.A)
