The global balance of power has shifted in recent years. While
foreign policy experts disagree on its specific structure, there is no doubt
that a significant portion of this new world order will be Chinese.
In what seems like ages since Chinese companies only
competed amongst themselves to impress the home Communist Party behind a robust
set of protectionist trade policies, the country’s “State Champions” now
command a staggering share of the global market in areas ranging from
telecommunications to middleware manufacturing. This commercial success has
emboldened China in its attempts to re-position itself as the economic partner
of choice among nations the world over.
The CCP has specifically used foreign cash flows to
modernize its military, clamp down on political dissent, and leverage the
dependence of overseas partners on Chinese goods to increase Chinese standing
in the world – all amid a blistering trade war with the United States.
However, the murky circumstances surrounding Chinese
companies’ requirements to comply with state-run intelligence operations in
concert with their alleged complicity in human rights violations committed by
the Chinese government have left many Western nations questioning the real cost
of doing business with China altogether.
Enter Huawei. A behemoth in its own right, Huawei currently commands
more than a quarter of the global telecommunications market. Its smartphones and infrastructure power the
computing needs of countries from the Horn of Africa to Central America.
However, Huawei has not escaped controversy. Governments across the Western
world have looked at Huawei with increasing skepticism – in some cases, even
banning them from selling products in their country – as the world hurtles
towards the new standard for telecommunications: 5G.
This project aims to shed light on the current
telecommunications infrastructure of one country - the United Kingdom – and how
it might better evaluate the risk of further inviting Huawei into its telecom
market against the actual demands of its citizens’ mobile computing needs. My
reason for selecting the United Kingdom is twofold:
(1) Other key members of the Five Eyes intelligence
alliance (the United States and Australia are notable examples) have flatly banned
Huawei from selling expertise, infrastructure, devices, or otherwise in their
countries. The UK’s situation is a bit more complex. British Telecommunications
(BT) has had contracts with Huawei since the early 2000s. Britain must now decide
whether to back its intelligence partners in this commercial blockade.
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(2) Domestic politics in the UK are a mess. Brexit
and its associated controversies have drained the establishment’s ability to
contend with looming foreign policy challenges, China’s rising influence among
them. However, this project may offer insights to British lawmakers that allow them
to contain Chinese influence on the European continent even as they may soon
leave it behind.
Intended data-set:
(World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database)
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