File Photo: VCG

As the UK ponders Huawei's role in 5G network development, the nation must decide whether US "recognition and praise" is worth everyone in the country to pay for, including operators, consumers, and companies who could suffer from strained China-UK relations, analysts said.

More importantly, the sacrifices and delays in the development of the next-generation network.

The comments follow the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) move to conduct a security review that could inspire the UK government to ban development on Huawei's 5G network, a shift in previous feelings as the Chinese company had already received the green light to supply parts of the 5G network in January amid the US' global crackdown on the Chinese firm.

Last month, UK officials spoke with Japanese technology company NEC Corporation in an attempt to find alternatives to Huawei's 5G equipment, according to a Bloomberg report, citing a person familiar with the matter. The UK government is also considering Samsung as an option, the source said.  

UK mobile operators and industry players are aware that using Huawei's 5G equipment would be "in their best interest," but due to political pressure, it was forced to "choose sides," Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst and a close Huawei follower, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Moreover, Huawei's business in the country is much more 'deeper' than many thought as it's very hard to find a replacement in a short time - if they could have, they would have done it much earlier," Ma said.

Widely considered as a response to the UK's move, Huawei said in an open letter on its official website on Monday that it is committed as always to providing local network operators with the "best equipment."

"For nearly 20 years, we've supplied the UK's mobile and broadband companies with 3G and 4G. But some now question our role in helping Britain lead the way in 5G," the letter stated.

Victor Zhang, Huawei's Vice President warned that Britain's economy would suffer billions of pounds of lost growth as it tried to recover from "the challenge of Brexit and now COVID-19" if Huawei's equipment was removed from the country's 5G networks and fixed-line fiber networks, according to a Financial Times report.

"UK and other EU countries' 5G rollout have also been seriously delayed due to US disturbances, as local telecom operators are unable to make long-term plan over US' crackdown and can only watch rapid 5G construction in South Korea and China," Ma said.

"But the delay is exactly what the US wants to see - it has to drag EU countries to find a partner thus they could jointly develop some technology that could help it crackdown on Huawei," Ma noted.

Wang Peng, a research assistant at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said the decision would strain China-UK relations and disrupt the "golden era" of their bilateral trade. 

However, countries like China and the UK, who are both expanding their circle of friends, now must learn how to compromise in the face of conflicts and disagreements, Wang said.

According to a report from the Sunday Times, China's ambassador to the UK said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plan to seek 5G development alternatives could ruin plans for Chinese companies to build nuclear power plants and the HS2 high-speed rail network in the UK.