Pompeo Expresses Confidence Western Telecom Providers Will Effectively Compete With Huawei

The United States has been trying to oust the Chinese tech giant from the American telecom market, slapping it with a series of restrictive measures over its alleged use of espionage gear - a claim denied by the company.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday he was convinced Western telecom companies will be able to provide cost-effective services comparable to Huawei's and will overtake the telecommunications market.

"I am confident that there will be cost-effective deliverables from trusted Western vendors that can deliver the same services or better services at comparative cost," Pompeo said.

Huawei's access to international markets has been one of the stumbling blocks in US-China relations, which are already complicated by geopolitical tensions.

The US has been tightening restriction on the tech giant, claiming that its equipment is used for spying purposes on behalf of the Chinese government.

Huawei, as well as Beijing, has strongly denied the claim, dismissing it as a political game.

However, US partners in Europe have followed Washington's lead and introduced measures to exclude Huawei from 5G rollout.