Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies has said it will dedicate $2 billion over the next five years to shoring up its cybersecurity capabilities in a bid to soften resistance from an increasing number of governments around the world, Reuters reports.
Huawei made the remarks at an uncharacteristically public press conference in Dongguan on Tuesday, during which it opened its doors to some two dozen international journalists.
One of the world’s leading telecommunications equipment providers, Huawei has come under intense scrutiny from Western authorities that are wary that using its products could enable state-sponsored espionage activity. Huawei products are already blocked in the US and its plans to build 5G networks in Australia and New Zealand have been shelved. Similar paths are being taken in the UK and, most lately, Japan.
“Locking out competitors from a playing field cannot make yourself better. We think any concerns or allegations on security at Huawei should be based on factual evidence,” said company chairman Ken Hu. “Without factual evidence, we don’t accept and we oppose those allegations.”