China threatens India with 'consequences' if it bars Huawei from 5G networks

China wants Indian government to take an independent decision on 5G bidders

The Chinese government has threatened to take retaliatory action if India's government bars Huawei from 5G networks on security grounds. In particular, it warned that it could potentially target Indian companies operating in China in response.

China's Foreign Ministry summoned India's ambassador in Beijing, Vikram Mistri, last month to hear China's concerns on the issue, according to Reuters.

China is now blackmailing India into using Huawei for its 5G infrastructure

Mistri was reportedly told that China expects India to take an independent decision on 5G bidders and not to succumb to pressure from the US. The US government has waged a high-pressure campaign against Huawei, claiming that the company's hardware is not secure and that Huawei could be subject to pressure from China's government to compromise their integrity.

In a tweet, US Congressman Jim Banks accused the Chinese Communist Party of "strong-arming countries into exposing themselves to surveillance and espionage".

Banks added that China had started "blackmailing" India into using Huawei for its 5G infrastructure.

Senator Marsha Blackburn echoed similar sentiments, alleging that China's government and Huawei were trying to impose their technology onto the allies of the US.

"We need to draw a hard line to protect our national security interests and intellectual property," Blackburn said.

The US has already banned Huawei over concerns that the Chinese company is involved in espionage activities for Beijing. The White House administration has demanded that allies, including India, restrict Huawei's operations and refrain from using Huawei's equipment in emerging 5G mobile infrastructure.

However, last month the UK's House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that Huawei should not be barred from 5G and conventional telecoms networks as there was no technical reason to do that.

India is expected to start trials for installing 5G cellular networks in the coming months, although it still at least one year away from rolling out 5G services for end users.

Huawei has carried out operations in India for a long time, and has made contributions to the development of Indian society

The Indian government has not yet taken a decision on whether it should allow Huawei to participate in the 5G technology trials.

"Huawei has carried out operations in India for a long time, and has made contributions to the development of Indian society and the economy that is clear to all," Huawei spokeswoman Hua Chunying told Reuters in a statement.

Recently, telecommunications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told parliament that the ministry had received six proposals for 5G trials, including from Huawei. While he didn't disclose the name of other firms, industry experts believe that firms such as Nokia, Samsung and Ericsson would participate in the trials.

Currently, a group of senior officials, led by the principal scientific adviser K Vijay Raghavan, is looking into whether Huawei should be allowed to participate in 5G trials in India.

So far, Indian agencies and telecom officials have no evidence to suggest that the Chinese company has used any kind of "back-door" to collect data during its past operations in India. "We can't simply reject them just because they are Chinese," a senior government official told Reuters.

A tech expert in the Indian government's National Security Advisory Board has also suggested that the government should ensure that mobile carriers only roll out Indian-made software to run on 5G equipment supplied by companies, such as Huawei.

Huawei, nevertheless, remains one of the world's biggest suppliers of 5G hardware, principally competing against Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung.