Huawei said that it is going to establish manufacturing units to produce 5G equipment in Europe, to further allay security concerns after the EU declined to impose a blanket ban on the use of Huawei’s equipment in its telecom networks. The news was announced in Brussels by Abraham Liu, Huawei’s Chief Representative to the EU Institutions, as the firm celebrated the 20th year of its operations in Europe. “We are looking forward to the next 20 years here. That’s why we have decided we want to set up manufacturing bases in Europe – so that we can truly have 5G for Europe, made in Europe,” said Liu. “Huawei is more committed to Europe than ever before,” he added. “The bases are expected to be used for assembly, and scale will not be big,” Xiang Ligang, a telecoms industry expert who closely follows Huawei, told the Global Times. In fact, the company does not have to build manufacturing bases in Europe as it could domestically produce all 5G-related products and later export to the region, which would be even more efficient and cheaper, Xiang said.

The EU has struggled to find a middle way to balance Huawei’s huge dominance in the 5G sector with security concerns pressed by Washington. A ban on Huawei will now ultimately be up to member states, but the European Commission’s middle road recommendations give cover to European capitals to resist pleas from Washington. Huawei employs over 13,000 staff and runs two regional centers and 23 research centers in 12 EU countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to be furious at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allowing Huawei to deliver equipment to the UK’s non-core peripheral networks, but the office of the PM said the row was “overblown”. However, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration had made its disappointment at the UK decision “very clear to them”.

Huawei’s plan is anticipated to minimize concerns of many over the so-called security threat, and paves the way for the company’s development in the continent, Telecom Expert Xiang added. The U.S. are working hard to try to come up with an alternative to Huawei. But Xiang said that “the U.S. has to accept the fact that it has already lagged behind in this next-generation technology race, and that all efforts against Huawei will be in vain”.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, to be held from February 24 to 27, announced that visitors from Hubei province would not be admitted and all visitors must provide proof that they have not been in China in the past 14 days, and certify that they have not been in contact with an infected person. Several companies, including Amazon, LG and Ericsson, have already pulled out of the event. A reduced delegation from Huawei has traveled to Spain well in advance of the event and put itself into a 14-day quarantine before attending the event, which is expected to attract 109,000 visitors. The GSM Association, which organizes MWC Barcelona, said in a statement that cleaning and disinfecting of the exhibition areas will be stepped up. It will also encourage a “no handshake” policy among the event’s attendees.