Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, which is currently in the crosshairs of the United States and its allies, has won over a contract to help develop a 5G network from China’s best friend: Russia.
The Shenzhen-based company, the world’s largest telecoms equipment vendor, signed an agreement with Russia’s largest mobile network carrier MTS to participate in the “development of 5G technologies and the pilot launch of fifth-generation networks in 2019-2020”, according to AFP.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and his “best and bosom friend” Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Moscow.
China and Russia have upgraded their bilateral relations to “a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era”.
In a joint statement, Beijing and Moscow vow to “oppose unnecessary restrictions on market access for ICT products using national security as an excuse.”
Guo Ping, Huawei’s rotating chairman, said he was “very happy” with the agreement, according to a statement cited by the AFP.
Huawei has been barred from participating in the 5G market in Australia and the United States. It was also recently added to the “Entity list” by the US Commerce Department, a move which effectively bans all US companies from working with Huawei without government approvals.