Paris (AFP) - As the US leads a
drive for the West to shun Huawei over security fears, the Chinese tech giant
has sought to strengthen its position in Africa, where it is already
well-established.
Huawei has taken a leading role in
developing next-generation 5G mobile phone networks around the world.
But it has been in turmoil since
Washington charged its equipment could serve as a Trojan horse for Chinese
intelligence services.
The world's second smartphone marker
fiercely denies the allegations, but the US has urged countries to avoid it and
several companies have distanced themselves.
They include Google, whose Android
operating system runs most smartphones.
And as Washington and Beijing duke
it out in an escalating trade war, nations around the world are faced with the
dilemma of having to choose a side between the world's two top economies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
weighed in on Friday, slamming Washington's attempt to "unceremoniously
push" Huawei out of the global market. Earlier in the week, Russia's MTS
telecoms giant signed a deal with Huawei to develop a 5G network in the
country.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, a
guest of Putin at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg, said China was
"ready to share technological inventions with all partners, in particular
5G technology".
But will the escalating fight lead
to African nations having to choose between China -- the continent's top trade
partner -- and the US?
"For African countries this
trade war may end up a binary choice. It will be very difficult for Africa to
just ignore" it, said Aly-Khan Satchu, an independent economic analyst
based in Nairobi.
- 'Very aggressive strategy' -
Huawei, now a major factor in
US-Chinese tensions, has looked to strengthen its ties in Africa, last week
signing an agreement to reinforce its cooperation with the African Union.
"This was a way to show that
Huawei is still present in Africa and that they want to remain a major player
by positioning themselves in this very important growth sector," said
Ruben Nizard, an economist and Sub-Saharan Africa specialist at the French
financial services firm Coface.
The deal comes after the French
newspaper Le Monde reported in 2018 that China had spied on the AU's
headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, citing sources inside the
organisation.
The report said the spying began in
2012 after the completion of the AU's new headquarters that was financed by
China, and was only noticed when technicians discovered data on the building's
servers was being sent to Shanghai.
Both China and the AU reject the
allegations.
Huawei has established itself across
Africa since launching in Kenya in 1998, and now operates in 40 countries,
providing 4G networks to more than half of the continent.
It will also showcase 5G -- the
next-generation mobile phone network that will transmit data at far greater
speeds -- in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held from June
21 to July 19.
"Africa is a market Huawei had
identified and which they conquered thanks to a very aggressive strategy based
on cheap financing and speed of execution," Satchu told AFP.
"The fact that Huawei has
equipped the AU says it all," he added.
- 'Big Brother Beijing' -
Huawei's presence in Africa goes far
beyond selling smartphones and building mobile networks.
In South Africa, it provides
training at the country's top universities, this year launching a specialised
course on 5G.
Kenya's government signed a
17.5-billion-shilling ($172 million) deal with Huawei in April to build a data
centre and "smart city" services.
The Chinese giant also offers a
"safe city" surveillance programme.
This initiative, according to the
firm's website, "can prevent crimes targeted towards the normal citizen,
tourists, students, elderly persons etc before they occur".
It has been deployed in Kenya's
capital Nairobi as well as Mauritius, with 4,000 "smart" surveillance
video cameras set up at 2,000 sites across the Indian Ocean island nation.
Some media outlets in Mauritius have
condemned the system as "digital dictatorship" from "Big Brother
Beijing".
But Ghanaian Security Ministry
Albert Kan-Dapaah, for one, says Huawei's video surveillance technology helps
catch criminals.
"When a crime has been
committed, thanks to the cameras, we work magic," Kan-Dapaah says in a
promotional video for the Chinese firm.
Huawei Marine, the company's
submarine cable arm, is helping to deploy a key 12,000-kilometre (7,450-mile)
cable system connecting Africa to Asia.
With Huawei so deeply embedded in
Africa, the continent may find it difficult to avoid becoming a collateral
victim of the US-China bust-up.
"Africa is caught in the middle
of a trade war that they should not have to take part in, because they have nothing
to gain," said Nizard.
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