German minister and US envoy clash over Huawei’s possible participation in Germany’s 5G network
- Economic Minister Peter Altmaier says risk of Huawei transmitting data to Chinese intelligence agencies is no greater than what ‘unreliable’ US has already done
- US ambassador Richard Grenell calls comparison ‘an insult’ to Americans ‘who contribute to the security of Germany’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing more criticism for her Huawei Technologies-friendly approach to 5G development, with the American ambassador to Germany calling her economic minister’s remarks on cybersecurity an “insult” to the US.
The latest rift emerged as the minister, Peter Altmaier, one of Merkel’s few allies on her 5G approach, on Sunday compared concerns over potential spying by the Chinese government to previous phone-tapping by the “unreliable” US government.
Merkel has for months been fending off pressure from the United States, her own party and the German parliament to ban Huawei as a candidate to build Germany’s next-generation mobile network systems.
The German government is concerned that banning Huawei could result in retribution from the Chinese government against the lucrative German car industry.
Over the weekend, Altmaier commented on concerns that Huawei would be subject to China’s laws that could require the company to hand over data from its communications networks to Chinese intelligence agencies. “The US also requires its companies to provide certain information needed to fight terrorism,” he said.