German cabinet to hold secret session on Huawei’s role in 5G network: paper

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German cabinet will hold a secret session on Wednesday to discuss safeguard measures regarding the possible participation of China’s Huawei Technologies in building Germany’s 5G network, the daily Handelsblatt said, citing government sources.

Huawei faces international scrutiny over its ties with the Chinese government and suspicion that Beijing could use Huawei’s technology for spying, which the company denies.

Wednesday’s meeting will focus on whether a security catalog, prepared by the Federal Network Agency and the cyber defense agency (BSI), along with certification rules and a no-spy agreement with China, will be enough to ensure future 5G mobile networks are safe, the paper said.

The session, to be held after the regular cabinet meeting, and attended by the German foreign, interior, economy, finance, and transport ministers, will discuss measures proposed last week by Deutsche Telekom to safeguard national security, the paper said.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany needed guarantees that Huawei would not hand over data to the Chinese state before the telecoms equipment supplier can participate in building its 5G network.