China issues first 5G licences amid global battle over Huawei

The Chinese government has issued its first four licences for commercial deployment of 5G technology, at a time when the US government is seeking to convince allied nations to block Huawei from the industry's rollout.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday that three of the country’s state-owned telecom operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, would be given 5G licences.

State-owned broadcaster China Broadcasting Network Corporation was also given a licence.

The three telecoms operators were previously given trial 5G licences, but have now been granted full use of the technology.

The decision by the Chinese government is likely to help Huawei, which has faced uncertainty over its ability to supply parts to 5G networks outside of its home country.

US government officials have reportedly lobbied friendly nations to reject Huawei equipment in their 5G networks amid concerns that Huawei’s continued close relationship with the Chinese government could mean that its devices are vulnerable to espionage. Huawei executives have repeatedly denied the allegation.

A Huawei spokesman said on Thursday that the company was prepared to support the launch of 5G in China. The company said that it had signed 46 5G commercial contracts and had shipped more than 100,000 base stations.

“Huawei will fully support Chinese carriers’ 5G products in China,” a spokesman said.

However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the Chinese government was also open to allowing foreign telecoms companies to supply its 5G networks.

The Chinese government’s announcement came on the same day that Huawei signed a deal with Russian telecoms firm MT to work on 5G technology in Russia.

The deal was announced as Chinese President Xi Jinping began a three-day visit to Russia.