President Donald Trump and senior Chinese officials recently found common ground by lamenting the status of 5G technology in the United States. Following a tweet from the American president’s official Twitter account, wherein he lamented the current state of US 5G development as “lagging behind,” senior Chinese leaders at the state-affiliated Huawei tech company agreed with his assessment.
Spurring US tech companies to tackle the development of advanced 5G technology with renewed gusto, President Trump asserted that he wanted “5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible.” While the social media postings raised questions over the status of 6G technology, a spurious innovation that doesn’t yet technically exist, extra attention was paid to the president’s comments on industry in Beijing.
Huawei Chairman Guo Ping, one of the leading tech-magnates in China and the current head of the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor as of last year, publicly espoused his agreement with the American president’s claim.
“I have noticed the president’s Twitter, he said that the US needs faster and smarter 5G, or even 6G in the future, and he has realized that the U.S. is lagging behind in this respect, and I think his message is clear and correct,” Guo told Reuters through a translator.
US and Chine rivalry
Competition between American and Chinese technology companies has heightened in recent years, particularly thanks to a spate of high-profile espionage cases that have ignited geopolitical tensions.
While the president’s tweets on 5G technology didn’t mention Huawei by name, the company is widely considered to be the leading tech firm in China and has received extensive support from the government over the past few years as it rose to global prominence.
The ongoing tech-race between American and Chinese companies has been complicated by a spate of high-profile espionage cases over the past few months.
The Justice Department recently announced sweeping charges against officials at Huawei for stealing trade secrets and obstructing criminal investigations, according to reporting from the New York Times.
Spying charges
American officials like Senator Marco Rubio and President Trump haven’t hesitated to vocalize their distress with Chinese business tactics in the past on the campaign trail.
While ongoing trade disputes continue to contribute to political tensions, companies on both sides of the Pacific will continue pushing ahead with next-generation 5G technology.
Roadblocks continue to stymie progress, however; earlier this year, Verizon reportedly paused a 5G rollout over concerns that the necessary equipment wasn’t yet prepared.