NATO Attacks Huawei, Issues Stark Warning to Germany

The Atlantic Alliance has joined the US crusade against Huawei and issued a stark warning to stop cooperating with the Chinese electronics and telecommunications giant. In an interview with German weekly Stern, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Germany to “avoid using technology from Huawei, which is suspected of cooperating with Beijing’s intelligence.” According to Stoltenberg, “most NATO member states have already decided to reject Huawei’s technology, especially as it relates to the expansion of telecommunications networks.” Huawei is a world leader in designing and building 5G networks.

Media questioned the credibility of the NATO secretary general’s statements after Stoltenberg accused Russia of using gas exports to Europe – the main source of revenue for the Kremlin’s budget, which has been hit to the ground by European sanctions – as a weapon of political blackmail. “Since the war in Ukraine began, Russian President Vladimir Putin has used gas as a weapon to prevent the West from supporting the attacked country. We must not repeat this mistake with China,” Stoltenberg said, but did not explain how Moscow turned gas into a weapon.

Instead, Stoltenberg chose to paint an apocalyptic scenario, in which the West would be at the mercy of subversion by Moscow and Beijing. The NATO secretary general said Russia and China have “intensified their espionage activities in NATO,” as they seek to “destabilize our democratic societies.” Faced with this threat, according to Stoltenberg, “we must primarily find out exactly what Russia and China are doing, and we must better protect our critical infrastructure, for both NATO and all European Union member states.”