The United States and Poland on Sept. 2 signed an agreement to cooperate on new 5G technology, as concerns about Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei continue to grow.
Days before the agreement was signed, a senior Trump administration official told reporters during a briefing that the deal was at “the top” of its list of priorities and noted it was imperative for national security.
“This is an incredibly important signal of the strength of our cooperation between the United States and Poland against what may be one of the preeminent, I guess I'll just call it a threat, in the coming years,” the official said on Aug. 31. The official didn’t specifically identify a country or company.
The agreement comes amid worries over supply chain security, as there are “a number of suppliers that have links to hostile governments,” the official told reporters.
“Protecting these next-generation communications networks from disruption or manipulation and ensuring the privacy and individual liberties of the citizens of the United States, Poland, and other countries is of vital importance,” the agreement states.
Pence said the agreement would “set a vital example for the rest of Europe.”
The United States and Chinese state-controlled Huawei, the world’s largest manufacturer of network infrastructure equipment, are in the midst of a global battle over network security. The United States has been lobbying allies to ban Huawei from 5G networks over fears the Chinese Community Party could make Huawei give it access to data for cyberespionage. Huawei has previously denied such allegations.
During a visit to Sweden on Aug. 29, Morawiecki said decisions were being taken that would make Swedish networking and telecommunications company Ericsson invest in 5G development in Poland.
