Canada to ban China's Huawei and ZTE

Canada has announced that two of China's largest telecom equipment manufacturers will be prohibited from working on its 5G phone networks. The country's industry minister announced the restrictions against Huawei and ZTE on Thursday. According to Francois-Philippe Champagne, the move will improve Canada's mobile internet services while also "protecting Canadians' safety and security." Several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, have already imposed limitations on the companies.

The four countries, along with Canada, make up the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing agreement. It began as a means for monitoring the Soviet Union and sharing sensitive information during the Cold War. Canada's announcement came as no surprise, given that its partners had already excluded Huawei and ZTE from their own high-speed networks.

Mr. Champagne told reporters in Ottawa, Canada's capital, that the decision was reached after "a thorough evaluation by our security services and dialogue with our closest partners. Let me be clear: We will always protect the safety and security of Canadians, and we will take all steps required to protect our telecommunication infrastructure. This is the proper decision in a 5G world, at a time when we rely more and more in our daily lives [on] our network."

Beijing regards the security concerns expressed by Canada as a "pretext for political manipulation," according to a spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.