Ethiopia new battleground for US-China tech fight

In the ongoing battle for economic influence around the world, the US claimed a victory over China on Saturday, when a Chinese consortium was outbid by a US-backed group in a closely watched telecommunications auction in Ethiopia. The East African country announced that it was using a group of telecom companies led by the UK’s Vodafone Group PLC to build a nationwide, 5G-capable, wireless network, reported the Wall Street Journal.

A newly created US foreign-aid agency have provided financing for the multi billion-dollar project. However, in keeping with current US tariffs and trade restrictions, the Vodafone-led consortium cannot use the low-interest loan money to buy equipment from blacklisted Chinese companies, specifically Huawei and ZTE Corp., for the project.