Beijing has warned India that its firms operating in China could face consequences if New Delhi moves to block Huawei Technologies from doing business in India, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the same sources, India's ambassador in Beijing, Vikram Misri, was summoned to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on 10 July to hear concerns about US attempts to force Chinese tech giant Huawei to withdraw from building 5G mobile infrastructure globally.
India is looking to upgrade its cellular network technology to 5G by 2020. India put out feelers to work with the United States to build the 5G network in July . According to India’s Foreign Ministry, New Delhi and Washington could leverage their respective abilities to work together on 5G infrastructure.
Earlier, the Indian Prime Minister’s Principal Scientific Adviser reportedly recommended that India should initiate 5G without the involvement of Huawei. This comes despite Huawei’s June proposal to make a formal commitment to reassure the Indian government over espionage risks.
The Indian telecom market is one of the fastest growing in the world and is forecast to be worth $103.9 billion by 2020, according to a report by Market Research Store.
In May, the US government blacklisted Huawei over its alleged ties to Chinese intelligence. The sanctions barred US firms from dealing with the company without a special licence. The United States has also been pushing other countries to refrain from using Huawei’s equipment while adopting 5G network technology.
Later in June, US President Donald Trump toned down the pressure, allowing US companies to sell components and spare parts to the still-blacklisted company.
