China calls UK's Huawei ban as 'groundless'

The Chinese government called the UK's ban of Huawei's 5G kit as "groundless" while vowing to safeguard Chinese companies' "legitimate interests."

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the UK is making excuses to cooperate with the US, violating relevant commitments it had made.

The UK had prohibited its telecoms networks from buying new Huawei 5G kit beginning December 31 and ordered all such equipment be stripped out of mobile networks by 2027.

The UK also asked BT's Openreach and other broadband infrastructure providers to stop using Huawei's gear in the rollout of full-fiber broadband within the next couple of years.

The US welcomed UK's move and announced new restrictions against Huawei, including curbing travel access for some of its workers.

In announcing the imposition of visa restrictions on certain employees of Chinese tech companies, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Huawei provides material support to regimes engaged in human rights violations and abuses globally.

US President Trump said he convinced many countries not to use Huawei because of its security risk.

The US claims that China uses Huawei's equipment to spy on and potentially attack other countries.

The US had asked the Five Eyes alliance members, which includes the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, to avoid the Huawei kit.

While the UK accounts for only a small fraction of its revenue, Huawei is concerned that the UK's ban will persuade other countries to take similar actions.