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| Telecom giant Huawei has long disputed claims of any links to the Chinese government |
Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE have effectively been banned from rolling out Australia's 5G network after Canberra warned of security risks with companies beholden to foreign governments, prompting Beijing to denounce "ideological biases".
Huawei --
one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment and services providers
-- has been under scrutiny in some countries, including the United States and
Australia, over its alleged close links to Beijing.
It was
blocked from bidding for contracts on Australia's ambitious national broadband
project in 2012, reportedly due to concerns about cyber-security.
The company
has long disputed claims of any links to the Chinese government.
Canberra
said in a statement that the "involvement of vendors who are likely to be
subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict
with Australian law" posed a security risk.
Acting Home
Affairs Minister Scott Morrison and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield added
that there was "no combination of technical security controls that
sufficiently mitigate the risks".
In Beijing,
foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China was "gravely
concerned", accusing Canberra of making "all types of excuses to
create hurdles and taking discriminatory measures".
"We
urge the Australian side to abandon ideological biases and create a sound
environment for the fair competition of Chinese enterprises in Australia,"
Lu said.
Huawei
Australia tweeted that the decision was an "extremely disappointing result
for consumers".
"Huawei
is a world leader in 5G. Has safely & securely delivered wireless
technology in Aust for close to 15 yrs," the firm said.
The move
came amid tensions between Beijing and Canberra that have seen Australia
refocus its foreign aid programmes to win hearts and minds in the Pacific,
where China has been flexing its muscles too.
Beijing has
extended loans to the impoverished nations in the region, with Canberra raising
fears some might get trapped with unsustainable debts, handing China influence.
Australia
in June said it would negotiate a security treaty with Vanuatu and also fund
and build an undersea communications cable to the Solomon Islands and Papua New
Guinea.
The
Solomons arrangement came after the Pacific nation was convinced to drop a
contract with Huawei.
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