Egypt is the Newest Front in the U.S.-China Battle Over Huawei and Chinese Tech in Africa

October 26, 2020

The United States brought its campaign against Huawei to Egypt as part of a global effort to promote Washington’s new “Clean Network” initiative that aims to build an alternative to China’s dominance in the international telecom networking market.

Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Keith Krach, made the pitch during a three-day visit to Cairo last week that ended Friday and included talks with Egyptian trade minister Navine Gamea.

The U.S. claims that it has 40 “like-minded” countries and 60 telecom companies already signed up for its “Clean Network” and seems to think it has a chance to peel Egypt away from becoming increasingly dependent on Chinese tech.

Although Huawei has a very strong presence in Egypt and has run 5G tests there, it’s still not clear whether the Chinese company will win the contract to build the country’s next-generation mobile communications network.

Keith Krach’s Comments on China During His Recent Visit to Egypt

TECHNOLOGY: “The Clean Network is a coalition of like-minded countries and companies committed to securing their most sensitive information from malign actors—like the Chinese Communist Party—based on internationally-accepted digital trust standards.” (U.S. EMBASSY IN EGYPT)

MANUFACTURING: “There’s now a big opportunity for Egyptian businesses to take advantage of the global trend to diversify supply chains and manufacturing out of China. Egypt is at a timely inflection point and is well postured to attract that investment here.” (U.S. EMBASSY IN EGYPT)

The Chinese Embassy in Cairo Blasts Krach’s Visit and Washington’s “Dirty Network”

The Chinese embassy in Cairo took to Twitter and Facebook this weekend to post furious rebuttals to Keith Krach’s efforts to persuade Egypt to reject Chinese technology and join Washington’s “Clean Network” initiative.

TRANSLATION: “Many countries do not care about the so-called “clean grid” at all, and even hate it. We believe that most countries, including Egypt, will make their own decisions with complete independence based on their own national interests, and say “no” to the “dirty network.”

The embassy accused the Under Secretary of spreading “lies against China” and “carrying out vicious attacks against China,” according to a long statement posted on the embassy’s Facebook page.

Rather than being a “clean network,” the embassy instead drew on evidence leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden to make the case that the U.S., not China, has a well-documented history of spying and eavesdropping on countries around the world.

The statement went on to say that despite repeated allegations by U.S. officials, Washington has failed to produce any verifiable evidence that supports its assertion that Huawei or other Chinese tech companies have engaged in espionage or have installed back-doors in its networking equipment. “Up till now, the Chinese companies have not even one single cybersecurity incident as revealed by Edward Snowden or WikiLeaks, or a single tapping or surveillance operation like PRISM, Equation Group or ECHELON,” said the embassy.

The embassy didn’t limit its critique to Krach’s visit and technology issues. The statement also devoted considerable space to refuting U.S.-led criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party, and China’s human rights policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Key Highlights From the Chinese Embassy’s Statement on Keith Krach’s Critique of Chinese Technology

5G: “For some time, the U.S. has been abusing [the] national security concept and state power to impose all sorts of restrictive measures on Chinese companies without producing any solid evidence. This is stark bullying… Politicizing relevant issues or creating cliques won’t be conducive to 5G progress. Such practices run counter to the fair competition principle and go against the common interests of the international community.”

“THE DIRTY NETWORK”: The “clean network” advocated by the U.S. is actually the “dirty network”, “eavesdropping network”, “monopoly network”, and “ideological network.”

SUGGESTED READING:

United States Embassy in Egypt: Media Roundtable Remarks from Under Secretary Keith Krach
Enterprise: Egypt is being drawn into the US-China tech war
The Chinese Embassy in Cairo: Remarks by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt on the US Under Secretary’s Attacks on China during his Visit to Egypt
Spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Egypt: S tatement by the Chinese embassy spokesman in Cairo on the so-called “clean network” (in Arabic)

The post Egypt is the Newest Front in the U.S.-China Battle Over Huawei and Chinese Tech in Africa appeared first on The China Africa Project.

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Rajpriya Gautam