The head of the UK’s GCHQ intelligence service, Jeremy Fleming, believes that the growing involvement of Chinese tech firms in Western economies poses a “hugely complex technological challenge,” that runs much deeper than Huawei, according to the Independent.
“We have to understand the opportunities and threats from China’s technological offer. Understand the global nature of supply chains and service provision irrespective of the flag of the supplier,” Fleming is set to say in an upcoming speech.
“It’s a hugely complex strategic challenge which will span the next few decades … probably our whole professional lives. How we deal with it will be crucial for prosperity and security way beyond 5G contracts.”
Last week, the UK broke ranks from the US-led resistance to Huawei by saying that the embattled telecoms giant carries a “manageable” threat and that it should not be outright excluded from use in domestic infrastructure.