With a 50.3% year-to-year increase in smartphone shipments, Huawei is quickly making a rise to the top. The Chinese multinational technology company holds the number two position in smartphone sales and is coming increasingly closer to surpassing Samsung, for the number one spot. With such immense success in simply ten years and quality smartphones, the question is, why was it banned?
The events that have built up to the banning of this corporation are significant and undeniable. It has been reported that Huawei avoided the Iranian sanctions and, in fact, supplied Iran with information technology that could be utilized for espionage on large populations. With the current Iranian-American Confrontation compounding the already parlous relationship between the two, this technology, in particular, is an immediate threat to American security. If Huawei is supplying extensive spying equipment, then Huawei may be doing so itself, as well. Although the concern isn’t confirmed, it precisely illustrates how the slightest uncertainty of Huawei could actually be a huge threat to the general security of the U.S.
Former deputy director at the UK Government Communications Headquarters, an intelligence and security organization for the government and armed forces in the UK, Andrew Hopkins joined Huawei in 2010. At that point, Hopkins had been previously involved in intelligence for the UK for forty years. While experience may have played a factor, could it be a coincidence that the deputy director, who worked in intelligence for almost half a century, is now working with a company accused of espionage? With his experience and knowledge, Hopkins could enable Huawei to have direct access to the UK government's classified information. Possibly a coincidence...or maybe not.
The CFO of Huawei, Meng Wazhao, was arrested for violating US sanctions on Iran and was charged with bank and wire fraud. Furthermore, Wazhao denied any relation between Skycom and Huawei. Yet other sources confirm that Skycom is, in fact, Huawei’s Iran-based affiliate, enabling the company to obtain banking services. Although the case is yet to go to trial, it is the matter of the case itself. The arrest of the company’s CFO reflects poorly on how the company functions but also creates suspicion and doubt on Huawei’s true intentions. Huawei has been accused of suspicious occurrences multiple times. So losing trust in the company comes easily, especially with other conflicts between the U.S. and China that have already raised eyebrows.
While cybersecurity is a concern, the 5G race is more intense than ever. The fact of the matter is that China has a big lead, leaving other nations trailing behind. 5G enables faster download speeds, connects billions of devices, and has vast advances in virtual reality and in artificial intelligence. 5G dramatically revamps surveillance, GPS systems, and internet services. It's the path to the future and China’s Huawei is leading in the race. Along with the ongoing trade war, the relation between China and U.S. is tense and in poor condition. What’s the problem at hand? If China creates 5G first and distributes it to all nations besides the U.S., then China will set an entirely new standard of technology, one that everyone globally, with the exclusion of the United States, will have access to. If the United States, the number one economy is at such a disadvantage technologically, then that would leave China dominating over the world. Through many Chinese efforts, it is clear that the Chinese empire has long sought to be the superior empire. Now it finally has the chance. With Huawei’s predicted success of 5G in the near future, the U.S. could be banning the company to ensure that it doesn’t advance any further. The UK, Australia, Taiwan, and New Zealand have followed the U.S. in banning the company as well. This means that if Huawei is successful, it has fewer countries to distribute to and profit from. The U.S. will also no longer be the only standing nation without 5G. Banning the multinational technology company may have been an attempt to protect not only the nation but its reputation too.
The cyberthreat Huawei poses surely seems to be a legitimate reason to ban it in the U.S and if China succeeds in the launch of 5G, it gives China the power to capture the 5G market and lead the world. So is the action of the United States banning and inducing its allies to do the same, truly to guarantee safety? Or is it with the intention of preserving its rank economically? Perhaps the aversion maintains the prestige and protects the nation equally.
Sources:
https://t3me.com/en/news/its-official-huaweis-phone-sales-are-on-incredible-growth-trajectory-samsung-and-apple-thats-a-slump-story/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/countries-banning-huawei-181206130850129.html
Comments