U.S. to Set Rules for Huawei’s Cooperation with U.S. Companies on 5G

U.S regulators are working to establish new rules that will clarify how domestic companies could cooperate with Huawei in developing industry standards for 5G networks, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.

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The move comes after nearly a year long uncertainty with Huawei being blacklisted by the US government last May for national security concerns as part of the tit-for-tat China-US trade dispute. Engagement with Huawei came to a standstill as U.S firms tentatively weighed what technologies and information could be shared with the Chinese company.

According to Reuters, the draft, which would allow U.S. companies to participate in standard-setting alongside Huawei is under final review by the Commerce Department and, if cleared, would go to other agencies for approval, making it unclear how long it will take before the rule is implemented.

Huawei’s has been ramping up its presence in global 5G networks in recent years, facing the western governments with a dilemma. In January 2020, UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson allowed Huawei to help build part of the country’s 5G network. Yet, some critics within the conservative party demanded that PM overturn this decision in March.

Th COVID-19 pandemic prompted robust 5G testing in China with applications spanning driverless cars, unmanned stores and drones, providing companies like Huawei with a good opportunity to monetize the new technology. A Reports by IPlytics, Germany-based IP intelligence company, revealed recently that Huawei Is currently in lead globally with 3,137 5G patents.

Huawei’s CEO Ren Zhengfei said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on March 25,2020 that the company will likely increase its R&D budget by 5.8 billion to more than $20 billion this year.