Photo taken on Nov. 20, 2019 shows Huawei's exhibition booth during a press preview for the 2019 World 5G Convention in Beijing, capital of China. Photo: Xinhua

While some countries are busily joining in fights against Chinese technology company Huawei based on political bias, others like Argentina chose to embrace it with an open heart for new technologies.

At a recent meeting between representatives of Argentine government and CEO of the Huawei branch, Chen Shiqing, both sides had an open discussion about the importance and possibilities for more cooperation as well as sensitive issues such as the trade war, cyber security and protection, according to a report by the foreign ministry of Argentina on Tuesday.

Argentina foreign ministry cabinet chief Guillermo Justo Chaves said at the meeting that they all know that Huawei is a leader in infrastructures in information and communication technologies and mobile devices, and it is essential to work together on technological innovation and artificial intelligence.

"The 5G system made an impact in the daily life of all of us as well as in the possibilities it opens up," said Chaves.

"Everything that has to do with a company of this size [of Huawei] worldwide is of interest to us and we are very happy that they are working with us," added Chaves.

The launch of this high level meeting, especially when countries such as the US are finding ways to politicize Chinese technology companies and their products and services, comes with the understanding that technologies like 5G may benefit the livelihoods of people in which Huawei plays a leading role, experts said.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted investments worldwide, the demand for 5G networks remains high in several Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, Xiang Ligang, an industry analyst, told the Global Times.

The number of base stations needed per country to reach their 10-year goal needs to increase 2 to 3 times, which means that by 2030 some 43,341 new base stations will be needed in Argentina, 150,027 in Brazil, 29,455 in Chile, 34,010 in Colombia, and 77,353 in Mexico, according to a study by Latin America's business intelligence platform BNamericas in November 2019.

Xiang said that Huawei has seen fruitful cooperation in South American countries, including Argentina where the company participated in the construction of the 4G network, setting a good path for further work on 5G.

Although there are strong competitors such as Ericsson and Nokia, Huawei has many advantages, including the stability of the system and the cost of construction of 5G facilities, which is at least 30 percent less than that of its competitors, Xiang said.

Currently, countries including Argentina, Brazil, Russia, the Philippines and Thailand have all embraced China's 5G technology, and Xiang predicated that it would only be the matter of time for many others to join in.

Global Times