Trump tells Bolsonaro to avoid Chinese Huawei technology in 5G.
One of the objectives of the meeting in Miami last night was to emphasize that the United States does not accept Chinese technology in Brazil.
PALM BEACH, United States (Reuters) - The U.S. government sees the entry of China's Huawei into the Brazilian 5G market as a potential impediment to the development of a strong cooperative relationship in the area of defense and intelligence between Brazil and the United States, a senior White House advisor said on Saturday in a briefing about the meeting between Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.
The topic would not necessarily be discussed between the two presidents at dinner on Saturday night at Mar-a-Lago, the unofficial summer residence of the US president in Florida, said the advisor, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the topics discussed in conversations between governments.
“We strongly believe, and look, clearly, that to have strong defense and intelligence cooperation with Brazil, you know, having the Chinese penetrate the 5G network, particularly through Huawei, would become a huge impediment. That’s just a fact, an unfortunate fact. This is, for example, affecting our relationship with the United Kingdom,” said Trump’s advisor.
So far, the Brazilian government has not imposed any restrictions on the entry of Huawei, one of the only companies with 5G technology, into Brazil. This is partly due to the interest of companies operating in Brazil in adopting Chinese technology. However, the auction, initially scheduled for March, was postponed to October and is now expected to take place in 2021.
"So, this is really a national security issue for us, and it should be for Brazil as well. Clearly, Brazil will not want the Chinese, through Huawei or other means, to jeopardize the privacy of its citizens or the security of its infrastructure by penetrating these networks," said Trump's aide.