Washington Asks Allies to Drop Huawei

The US government has initiated an extraordinary outreach campaign to foreign allies, trying to persuade wireless and internet providers in these countries to avoid telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co., apparently. American officials have briefed their government counterparts and telecom executives in friendly countries where Huawei equipment is already in wide use, including Germany, Italy and Japan, about what they see as cybersecurity risks. The US is also considering increasing financial aid for telecommunications development in countries that shun Chinese-made equipment, apparently.  One US concern centers on the use of Chinese telecom equipment in countries that host American military bases. The Defense Department has its own satellites and telecom network for especially sensitive communications, but most traffic at many military installations travels through commercial networks.