On Thursday, the UK published a report saying that it has found significant security flaws in the products made by China’s Huawei and that the company hasn’t shown a commitment to fixing them. This makes the UK the latest country to stake a position as the world starts to sort itself into pro-China and pro-US factions.
Huawei is at the centre of a dispute between the two superpowers. The US says that Huawei tech is dangerous, designed to let China’s government spy on users. Some countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, have enacted total or partial bans on Huawei products in response – particularly its 5G hardware. But many others, including Germany, Italy, and France, have been reluctant to cut off Huawei, especially since it’s basically the only 5G game out there.
As China seeks to counter US hegemony and as its economic weight grows, there will be a growing number of conflicts – hopefully not hot ones – between the two. Smaller countries are being forced to choose sides. The emergence of a new power centre is always dangerous – look at what happened when the US and Britain were competing in the early 20th century. Let’s hope this transition is a little more peaceful.
