Britain risks throwing away its long-standing relationship with China if it bans Huawei from its 5G networks at the behest of the United States as part of a global battle for technological supremacy, the UK chairman of the tech group told Reuters.
John Browne, a pre-eminent voice in UK Plc and former head of oil giant BP, said Huawei had become a political football in an escalating trade dispute between the two superpowers, and Britain risked being damaged in the process.
“There is no diplomacy here,” Browne said during a Reuters Events virtual ‘Build Back Better’ symposium in London. “The UK has had a very long relationship with China and I hope it’s not one that they simply throw away.”