UK’s Johnson to Huawei critics: ‘Tell us what the alternative is’

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson trod a delicate line between China and the United States on Tuesday morning over the contentious issue of whether to use equipment from Chinese tech giant Huawei in the UK’s next-generation 5G wireless networks.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has tried to convince Washington’s allies to steer clear of Huawei gear in 5G network buildouts, citing the potential for the telecoms giant to include “backdoor” security vulnerabilities that could allow China to spy on Western networks – a charge Huawei has vigorously denied.