Poland to sign 5G agreement with US to counter Huawei tech

  04 Sep 2019

The Polish government said that it plans to sign an agreement with the United States over cooperation and security in the sphere of 5G telecommunication technology when the two countries leaders meet this coming weekend, a senior government official told Reuters.

The planned agreement follows months of lobbying by the US for Poland and other European governments to halt business dealings with China’s Huawei, the globe’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and key play in next-generation 5G mobile networks, due to security concerns.

Recently, the United States has increased its efforts to fight the rising power and influence of China’s preeminent tech giant. The US claims that Huawei is involved in acts of espionage for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese intelligence services. The CCP and Huawei both vehemently deny this allegation.

But that hasn’t stopped Washington from putting pressure on other governments to stop using Huawei equipment for the new generation of 5G networks.

Last spring, the US Commerce Department blacklisted the Chinese tech giant and close to 70 of its affiliates from buying US tech and from having business relations with US companies if not approved by the government.

Warsaw said that the new agreement with the US wouldn’t exclude any specific company or equipment from any one country. It did, however, say that security and cooperation with Washington will be a central aspect.

“The agreement is expected to be signed, it’s a general declaration for the needs of security and future cooperation,” the Polish official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

The bilateral 5G cooperation agreement is said to be based on the so-called Prague Proposals – a set of principles surrounding 5G networks and cybersecurity put forth during an international conference in the Czech capital earlier this year.

Trump is due to land in the Polish capital on Sunday morning where he will participate in ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War.

The US president is expected to announce additional details about an agreement between the two countries that would see additional US troops stationed in Poland.

Trump last visited Poland in July 2017, just several months after taking office. Warsaw was his very first stop on his first visit to Europe as President of the United States.