Amongst the growing anti-China sentiment, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has requested government to restrict Chinese companies from participating in 5G rollout in the country. The organization has already been promoting ban on the use of Chinese products and services.
CAIT addressed a letter to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stating, “We may like to mention that in several countries both Huawei and ZTE Corporation have been charged with a laundry list of crimes including conspiracy, money laundering, bank and wire fraud. We are sure that our above request will be considered by you and necessary decision will be taken to protect not only the security of the country but also the privacy of the people of India through data and as such both Huawei and ZTE Corporation will not be allowed to participate in 5G network rollout in India.”
5G network refers to next-generation mobile phones offering high download speed and has the ability to support critical infrastructure which makes it even a bigger threat to data theft. India also recently banned 59 Chinese applications including widely popular Tik Tok on grounds of national security. The ban also comes in the backdrop of the current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops.
Huawei and ZTE were recently classified as ‘national security threat’ by US Federal Communications Commission saying the major step was aimed at protecting American communications networks from security risks. Huawei is accused of building equipment that can be used for spying by China though the company has repeatedly denied all allegations and stated that it is independent of the government.