- By Wayne Rodrigo
- (General Dispatch) – Telecommunications company Huawei is looking to expand across the Middle East in order to promote its 5G technology, but has had complications with sanctions coming from the US, Europe and Australia, these nations claiming that the company has ties to the Communist Party of China.
- The White House warns that this type of technology is not reliable, as nations may be exposed to some kind of hacking or spying on their systems, seriously affecting their sovereignty.
- A strategic ally of Washington are the Arab Gulf countries, which see 5G technology as attractive for the purpose of implementing large projects and creating large smart cities to provide their populations with better security services.
- “The use of technologies for population surveillance in Gulf countries is closer to China’s practices than those of Western countries,” said Camille Lons of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- Huawei, despite having complications due to the sanctions, opened one of its largest stores in Riyadh in January, and a few months later finalized an agreement to create artificial intelligence and assist the country’s private and public sector.
- Last summer, Saudi investment firm Batic agreed to work together with Huawei to create smart cities, and has already begun deploying its technology in places such as Mecca and Medina, sacred sites for pilgrims.
- “By earning the trust of our partners in the Middle East, we have been able to mitigate external political pressures such as those pursued by the United States,” Charles Yang, Huawei’s Middle East chief, told AFP.
- China has been one of the most important trading partners in the Gulf, since 2019 its transactions have been increasing by $34.4 billion while the Arab Emirates $50 billion, this relationship may be complex for the US so we will have to wait what decisions the Biden administration will make.
Adittional Information:
Breitbart: Huawei Defies Rejection in U.S., Europe, and Australia to Make Big Middle East Inroads
