Huawei Questions Speak to Future of the Internet, 5G, AEI Scholar Says

Questions about Huawei speak to the future of the internet and 5G, said Claude Barfield, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, in an interview AEI posted Wednesday: “Other nations are watching the United States as to how we react and how we challenge, or choose not to challenge, China.” Barfield said President Donald Trump appears to be most focused on the trade deficit in China policy. The Chinese say U.S. complaints are tied to the U.S. “pushing its own companies,” he said. “We have no dog in this fight.” The two main alternatives to Huawei are Ericsson and Nokia, both foreign, he noted. “Are they going to be adequate substitutes?” Barfield said. “If they’re not, what do you do? The administration has not really faced up to that.” So far, there’s no evidence the Chinese government has intervened, he said. “The problem with that though, is that we are just beginning 5G.” Huawei and the Chinese Embassy didn't comment. Strand Consult, meanwhile, said it's launching ChinaTechThreat.com "to focus on cybersecurity challenges and how they affect the telecom and other industries."