US warns of growing Huawei influence in Central and Eastern Europe

The US has warned of the growing influence of Chinese telecoms company Huawei in central and eastern Europe as it launches a diplomatic push to curb Beijing’s ambitions in the region.

Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, is due to visit Hungary, Slovakia and Poland this week in a sign of Washington’s fears over inroads made by Beijing through business deals and infrastructure investment.

The potential for Chinese intelligence services to use Huawei to snoop on host countries has emerged as a central concern for Washington in its broader strategic tussle with Beijing and Moscow in eastern states of the EU. Huawei has strongly denied it is vulnerable to such interference.

US officials said in a briefing that the “large number of small and mid-sized states” in central and eastern Europe, many of whom “have a higher propensity for corruption”, could allow China to “penetrate key sectors” and exert influence within the EU.

“We are more concerned about the Chinese presence, the Huawei presence, in central and eastern Europe than in western Europe,” a senior administration official said.

via FT