UN Telecoms Chief: Huawei Allegations are Politically Motivated, Not Evidence

Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) shown during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 28, 2018.

The secretary general of the UN's internet and telecoms agency has suggested US concerns about 5G networks built using Huawei equipment have more to do with politics and trade, rather than legitimate worries over security. "There is no proof so far," Houlin Zhao, head of the International Telecommunication Union, said regarding claims about Huawei's security. He noted it's in telecoms' best interests to make sure their infrastructure is secure as they might otherwise feel the wrath of authorities.

"Those preoccupations with Huawei's equipment, up to now there is no proof so far," Zhao said.
The United States has urged its allies to banHuawei from building 5G networks, saying it could be used for espionage. Huawei has rubbished the allegations, saying Washington had a "loser's attitude".

"I would encourage Huawei to be given equal opportunities to bid for business, and during the operational process, if you find anything wrong, then you can charge them and accuse them," the Chinese-born Zhao said. "But if we don't have anything then to put them on the blacklist – I think this is not fair."
Zhao was speaking on the day South Korea's Samsung Electronics won the race to commercially launch 5G services, saying 5G-enabled smartphone Galaxy S10 would allow games to be played with minimal delay, potentially changing the landscape of the gaming industry.

Zhao said it was in the interest of telecoms companies to ensure that they were using secure hardware, because otherwise they could face a challenge by national authorities or a public backlash against using their services.
"So it's their first concern, their first target, to make sure that the systems they use in the market will provide service satisfaction to them."
The ITU will hold a meeting in October to finalise standards for the 5G spectrum, but concerns about Huawei will not slow down that process, Zhao said.

The ITU also has a study group of national experts looking into security.
"Up to now we don't have any proposal from anybody on 5G security concerns there," Zhao said.
The study group includes an official from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as well as an official from Chinese telecoms firm ZTE Corp.

April 06, 2019