The British Government decided on Monday to postpone the decision whether or not to include Huawei in next-generation 5G infrastructure.
Reasoning for the decision was based on indecisiveness regarding US policy towards China as well as lack of certainty around a future governments position.
According to Reuters, Digital Minister Jeremy Wright has come out and said that until policy from the US is "clear", Britain will not yet be making any conclusions regarding Huawei, but will do soon.
“These measures could have a potential impact on the future availability and reliability of Huawei’s products, together with other market impacts, and so are relevant considerations in determining Huawei’s involvement in the network,” Mr Wright said to parliament.
He later said that it is possible that Huawei could be banned from the UK's 5G infrastructure entirely if the next government decided to follow the US line.
“It is of course a possibility and remains so that the government may decide that an outright ban on Huawei equipment in the 5G network is the appropriate course of action,” he said.
The friction between the UK and China's Huawei came about as a result of Britain's National Security Council previously having only allowed Huawei access to 'non-core' infrastructure on the basis that Huawei could be used to spy on users.
Huawei is the largest telecommunications company in the world and has become a chess-piece in the trade war between China and the US, with the US putting Huawei onto a restrictive blacklist of companies and Huawei planning to move its business elsewhere, leading to the loss of US jobs.
China has warned the UK that blocking Huawei would harm UK-China relations and affect investment and trade.
However, the US has also put out a statement saying that if the UK refuses to follow its line on Huawei, it could stymie a future trade deal.
This puts Theresa May's successor, who is to be announced on Tuesday and to be tasked with leading the UK out of the EU, in a precarious situation, caught between the rock of China and the hard-place of Donald Trump's United States.
Huawei Vice President Victor Zhang has expressed optimism regarding the decision, saying that he welcomes the UK government's commitment to "a diverse telecoms supply chain" and "new legislation to enforce stronger security requirements in the telecoms sector".
In their attempts to the gain favour with the UK government Huawei have offered to sign a 'no spy' agreement.
