China could ‘weaponise cities’ if it controlled 5G networks, retired US general says

China’s desire to dominate new wireless technology poses a global threat that should be thwarted by a new, secure network, according to a former official in the Donald Trump administration whose call for an enlarged US government role caused an uproar last year.

China will gain a capability for mayhem and mass surveillance if it dominates advanced 5G networks that link billions of devices, retired air force Brigadier General Robert Spalding said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

“The more connected we are, and 5G will make us the most connected by far, the more vulnerable we become,” Spalding, who left the National Security Council last year, said in the memo.

He confirmed his authorship of the memo in an interview on Friday, saying he wrote it in recent days, and circulated it to national security professionals whom he declined to identify. A plan he backed last year aroused protests from Republican regulators and lawmakers and wireless companies who said it diminished the role of private companies.

Washington is in tense trade talks with China and has taken steps to restrict its top telecommunications equipment maker, Huawei Technologies Co. The company’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada December on charges of violating sanctions against Iran.