Canada's long-awaited measure on Thursday follows the United
States and other key allies, and comes on the heels of a diplomatic row between
Ottawa and Beijing over the detention of a senior Huawei executive on a US
warrant, which has now been resolved.
The United States has warned of the security implications of
giving Chinese tech companies access to telecommunications infrastructure that
could be used for state espionage.
Both Huawei and Beijing have rejected the allegations.
"China is firmly opposed to this and will conduct a
comprehensive and serious assessment," foreign ministry spokesman Wang
Wenbin told reporters in response to the 5G block.
"The Canadian side has excluded these Chinese companies
from the Canadian market under the pretext of groundless security risks and
without any solid evidence."
He added that Beijing would "take all necessary
measures" to protect Chinese companies.
"This move runs counter to market economy principles
and free trade rules," he said, accusing the Canadian government of
"seriously damaging the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese
companies."
Canada had been reviewing the 5G technology and network
access for several years, repeatedly delaying a decision that was first
expected in 2019.
It remained silent on the telecoms issue after China jailed
two Canadians - diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor - in
what observers believed was in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei chief
financial officer Meng Wangzhou in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of
the United States.
All three were released in September 2021 after Meng reached
a deal with US prosecutors on the fraud charges, ending her extradition fight.
But Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne
made the 5G announcement on Thursday, citing the "intention to prohibit
the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE products and services in Canada's
telecommunication systems."
Champagne said Canadian telecommunications companies
"will not be permitted to include in their networks products or services
that put our national security at risk."
"Providers who already have this equipment installed
will be required to cease its use and remove it," he said.
'Hostile actors'
Huawei already supplies some Canadian telecommunications
firms with 4G equipment.
Most, if not all, had held off using Huawei in their
fifth-generation (5G) wirelesss networks that deliver speedier online
connections with greater data capacity. Others have looked to other suppliers
while Ottawa hemmed and hawed.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino warned
Thursday of "many hostile actors who are ready to exploit
vulnerabilities" in telecom networks.
The United States, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Japan,
and Sweden have already blocked or restricted the use of Huawei technology in
their 5G networks.
The US government considers Huawei a potential security
threat due to the background of its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, a former
Chinese army engineer who is Meng's father.
The concern escalated as Huawei rose to become the world
leader in telecoms networking equipment and one of the top smartphone
manufacturers.
Beijing also passed a law in 2017 obliging Chinese companies
to assist the government in matters of national security.
The decision could prove to be "a major expense for
Canada," Kendra Schaefer, tech policy researcher at consultancy Trivium
China, told AFP.
"Not only have local telecom providers already
invested... in Huawei equipment, but additionally they are going to go back and
have to rip out everything they've already installed," she added.