Page 56 - EE Times Europe Magazine | April2019

56 EE|Times EUROPE

OPINION
country’s 5G network, and the European Com-
Huawei Chooses France, mission confirmed that it would not exclude
Huawei on the continent.
Is the battle half-won for Huawei in
But Will France Choose Europe? Not really. Germany is struggling to
reach consensus, and France is in the early
stages of rolling out its 5G network and has
Huawei? not yet selected suppliers.
Wait. If Germany and France are involved
in a decision-making process, assessing the
pros and cons, isn’t it the best time to offer
By Anne-Françoise Pelé reassurances and build confidence? Isn’t it
an opportune time to announce a plant likely
to generate extra cash and extra jobs for the
France secured a total of €8 billion in investments from business local economy?
leaders in January at its third Choose France Summit, held at the No need to answer; Liang himself felt the
Palace of Versailles. That doesn’t include Huawei’s plan to spend need to justify Huawei’s project when he said,
more than €200 million on a new wireless equipment plant in France. “This is not a charm offensive.”
Should we light up Louis XIV’s Hall of Mirrors and run the Grand
Fountains in celebration? Not yet. According to Huawei, as one
China’s Huawei Technologies announced it would build its first
European manufacturing plant — and the second outside China — of the world’s most advanced
on French soil. The “highly automated and intelligent facility” is manufacturing centers,
expected to produce 4G and 5G equipment and to have a demo center that will showcase the
wireless base station production, software loading, and testing process. France has mature industrial
The €200 million investment, which covers the acquisition of the land, construction, and setup
of the machine tools and equipment, is just the first phase. Huawei estimates that the project infrastructure and a highly
will create 500 jobs and that the direct annual economic activity will amount to €1 billion. educated labor pool, and its
“This site will supply the entire European market, not just France,” Huawei chairman Liang
Hua told a press conference in late February. geographic positioning is
So why center the operation in France? “As one of the world’s most advanced manufacturing
centers, France has mature industrial infrastructure and a highly educated labor pool, and its ideal for the company.
geographic positioning is ideal for Huawei,” the company stated.
Indeed, Huawei has had a presence in the country for some time. In 2018, the telecom giant One detail caught my eye: The plant loca-
picked Grenoble for an R&D center dedicated to sensors and parallel processing software. At the tion has not been unveiled yet. Why would
time, Huawei already had three R&D centers in the Paris region and one in Provence-Alpes-Côte Huawei make such an announcement if it
d’Azur. It currently employs 1,000 people in France and 12,000 in Europe. doesn’t have a city nailed down? The only
reason is to draw the attention of the media
A CHARM OFFENSIVE? and let the news ricochet through the politi-
No matter how genuine its intentions, it is tempting to think that Huawei’s aim is to court cians as they fight for their regions.
France — and Europe. The French Ministry of Economy diplomat-
Huawei, caught up in a full-fledged trade war between Washington and Beijing, is accused of ically welcomed the announcement, regarding
threatening U.S. security. The Trump administration has been pressuring European allies to ban it as the obvious proof of France’s attractive-
the Chinese company from building their 5G infrastructure. Despite the arm twisting, the U.K. ness. Nonetheless, it is not rolling out the red
government recently announced that it has allowed Huawei to build non-critical parts of the carpet, as it usually does for foreign investors.
Words need to be chosen wisely before
they are uttered, especially after the Chinese
embassy in Paris urged the French govern-
ment not to discriminate against Huawei. “If,
due to security concerns, the French govern-
ment truly does have to impose constraints
on operators, it should establish transparent
criteria around this and treat all companies
equally,” stated the embassy, specifying that
security fears about Huawei were unfounded.
In a mid-February TV interview, French
minister of economy and finance Bruno Le
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK against Huawei, but “some decisions will be
Maire said that France would not discriminate

taken to protect our sovereignty.” He further
commented, “When you have a military camp
or a nuclear plant with sensitive technologies,
it is normal for the French state to protect

APRIL 2020 | www.eetimes.eu them and apply restrictions.”