Huawei Ready to 'Go Extra Mile' in UK, Sign 'No Spy' Agreement

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Huawei is prepared to take additional steps in order to reassure the United Kingdom that the telecom giant is not involved in espionage or linked to the Chinese government, the executive vice-president of Huawei, Jeremy Thompson, said in an interview.

"We are in unusual times, and the press is full of articles from the United States and elsewhere, saying that Huawei is not a company that they want to do business with, so we recognize we need to go the extra mile to assure the UK, and we are willing to do that", Thompson said in an interview with Sky News.

He added that Huawei’s presence was "good for the country" as its approach to developing 5G networks, which are central to the United Kingdom's industrial strategy, was different from that of local companies.

The statement comes after Huawei announced a day earlier its readiness to sign "no-spy, no-backdoors" agreements with Western states, including the United Kingdom, amid accusations the company misused its 5G networks to spy for the Chinese government.

READ MORE: Huawei Wants to Sign 'No-Spy' Deals With Gov'ts, Including UK — Board Chair

In April, UK Prime Minister Theresa May approved Huawei’s bid to develop fifth generation networks in the country, despite senior security official warning that allowing a Chinese telecom giant to access the country’s critical communication systems would threaten national security.

Such warnings prompted Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States to ban Huawei from participating in government contracts in 2018. US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order later on Wednesday that will ban national companies from doing business with Huawei.