On Wednesday, December 17, local time, the cabinet of German Chancellor Angela Merkel approved a security bill that allows the conditional use of Huawei and other foreign companies' products and technologies in 5g networks, but they must be supervised and secure.

Under the act, network equipment suppliers must ensure that their devices are safe to use, which makes them financially liable for any violations. The legislation will also provide technical and legal support to German security agencies to monitor network security.

When the German government released the draft security bill earlier this month, Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, said the government was seeking to establish a legal basis to address cyber security concerns while keeping the market open to competitive technologies. "We have regulations in place to enable us to monitor in an appropriate manner and our safety interests are greatly guaranteed," he said

Given that China is Germany's largest trading partner and the largest market for many German companies, the country has been reluctant to respond to us calls for restrictions on Huawei. Instead, Germany seeks to take a middle ground position, allowing Huawei to operate in Germany, but will monitor it to appease its US allies. Although Germany is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, it lags behind other countries in terms of high-speed Internet infrastructure, which makes the rapid and comprehensive laying of 5g network more critical for enterprises and families.

In addition, a complete ban on Huawei's operations in Germany may face legal obstacles, but it also threatens Germany's considerable economic interests in China. One third of new car sales in China come from German manufacturers, which is the largest single market for big German automakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. German automakers rely on cooperation with HUAWEI in the technology of networked cars and autopilot, and Deutsche Telekom has integrated HUAWEI's technology into its 4G and 5G broadband networks.

It is said that the bill must also be submitted to the German Bundestag for deliberation before it can be formally passed.

According to the data collected by Dell 'Oro group, a market research company, Huawei, as an industry leader, has increased its revenue share in the telecom equipment market to 30% in the first three quarters of 2020, up from 28% in the whole year of 2019. This is driven by China's efforts to build a national 5g network, in which Huawei has played a leading role. (small)

Source: Netease technology report, translated by Baidu