Chinese tech giant Huawei has announced that it has received approval to construct a $1.25 billion research facility in the UK.
Huawei will build the nine-acre UK research facility in Cambridge, England, which will serve as the  international headquarters of the company's fiber optic communication business. According to a press release, the project will generate around 400 jobs.
Construction of the proposed research site comes as the Chinese firm is being scrutinized over its involvement in the country's 5G networks. The UK is currently conducting a new security review of the company
Huawei and the 5G controversy
This is just four months after Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed US objections and granted Huawei a limited role in building out the UK's next generation of super-fast interconnected 5G wireless networks.
In late January, the UK government announced its decision grant Huawei a limited role in the development of its 5G network. UK authorities decided to exclude from "security critical" areas of Britain’s networks but allow it to supply less sensitive products.
These security critical areas refer to those that identify customers or make decisions about routing traffic. Despite the exclusion, Huawei will still be able to offer British mobile operators, including Vodafone, BT and Three, less sensitive products such as radio technology and base stations, as long as its market share is limited to 35%.
However, in late May, the government announced that it will be conducting a new review on the impact of using Huawei equpment in UK 5G networks. The decision was made following the announcement of new sanctions imposed by the US on the Chinese company over security fears.
The sanctions place a restriction on Huawei’s use of US technology and software to design its semiconductors. According to the US Department of Commerce, the Chinese firm flouted regulations implemented last year requiring it to obtain a license to export US items.
Prime Minister Johnson is being pressured by some lawmakers within his own party and the Trump administration to ban Huawei entirely on the grounds that the Chinese government could use Huawei for its own efforts, including spying.
Although Huawei has consistently denied that it would help the Chinese government to spy, and says it is "100% owned by employees," under Chinese law, Chinese firms can be ordered to act under the direction of the government.
The research facility
Construction of the new facility will help create hundreds of new jobs during a time when the UK economy is being pushed down by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang emphasized on what the new campus would do for the UK economy, saying it wants "to help enshrine the UK's leading position in optoelectronics and promote UK tech on a global scale."
On Thursday, former Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that the UK must make a pro-US call on Huawei.
Blair argued: "One of the extraordinary things about 5G is that the West has in a way just allowed this advantage, this superiority to be gained. It is very hard for us not to be with the US on anything that touches US security."
