Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is gearing up to build it's a manufacturing plant in Europe. This will be the company's first plant in Europe, said the company on Thursday. The decision to build an entirely new plant in France is understandably in a bid to ease worldwide concerns over the company's way of operation and credibility.
Huawei has been under pressure since allegations made by the United States that China could use the company's equipment for spying. This has somewhat put a question mark on Huawei's credibility as a transparent company and the company since then has been trying to resurrect its image.
Big move by Huawei
Huawei's chairman Liang Hua on Thursday said that the company will build its first European 5G factory in France. The Chinese telecom major also said that it intends to pump in a whopping $217 million (200 million euros) in the first phase. Moreover it will create 500 jobs.
The first phase of the factory involves the construction of the mobile base station plant. Liang said, "This site will supply the entire European market, not just France's." However, the company didn't divulge much on the exact location it intends to come up with the factory.
France is still in the early stage of rolling out its 5G network and is yet to select suppliers. French President Emmanuel Macron too has been aggressively trying to court foreign investors. However, he has also expressed his concerns over Chinese involvement in European Union's economy. Liang said that the company has already outlined and shared its plan with the French government.
Huawei tries to re-instill faith
5G is expected to give a massive boost to both speed and capacity of telecommunications. Huawei is presently the world leader in the manufacturing of 5G technology and is trying to build Europe's 5G infrastructure. That said, Huawei's image has somewhat been tarnished following allegation made by Washington that the Chinese government can use the company's equipment for spying.
This has directly pitted the US against China and Europe seems to be the battleground. The US has also alerted European countries about its doubts on Huawei's operations and the possible threat the company could pose. Huawei has since then been denying such allegations.
The French government had some time back said that it would prefer Finish telecom giant Nokia or Sweden's Ericsson, but also won't rule out Huawei. It now seems Huawei by building its first European factory in France is attempting to ease worldwide concerns and allegations of spying for the Chinese government.
