Huawei says it is ready to open a factory in France to produce 4G and especially 5G antennas, which should therefore be used to build future 5G networks. Promising the creation of 500 jobs, the Chinese group definitely does everything to convince that it is not a bad agent in the service of Chinese espionage.
Pressure, bluff or real commitment? Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment supplier that worries Westerners, says it is ready to produce in France.
Huawei says it is ready to produce 4G and especially 5G antennas, which should therefore be used to build future 5G networks. Antennas that Huawei today does not have the right to sell in France. But the Chinese group definitely does everything to convince that it is not a bad agent in the service of Chinese espionage. The president of Huawei has come to France to announce his intention to invest 200 million euros in the construction of his first factory outside of China. It promises the creation of 500 direct jobs. Until now, Huawei has only had research and development centers and sales networks in Europe. But no factories. It is therefore a strong symbol.
Enough to defuse spy criticism?
This is Huawei's hope, you must not be naive. The timing of this announcement is perfect. In France, telecom operators have submitted authorization requests for 5G Huawei antennas to Ansi (the National Information Systems Security Agency). Ansi, that is to say the State, the services, must respond within two months. And we are still waiting for this answer. You might think that by dangling the construction of a factory in France, Huawei is trying to influence the decision of the French state. It is clear that if the state says no to the sale of Huawei 5G antenna, this factory project is likely to fly away as quickly as it came.