LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised leading members of her Christian Democratic party (CDU) that Germany will use more European components in the rollout of its 5G network than is the case in the existing infrastructure, top party officials said.
Merkel told a meeting of the CDU's executive committee in Leipzig on Thursday that Huawei [HWT.UL] components accounted for about 70% of the existing mobile network and that Ericsson's and Nokia's share would rise in future.
The CDU executive committee also passed a proposal for the party's congress in Leipzig this weekend that calls for the government to include a provision in draft legislation "that clarifies which requirements for security and trustworthiness telecommunication equipment suppliers have to meet...to be allowed to participate in the 5G network expansion in Germany".
The United States, fearing Huawei's equipment could be used by China for spying, has led a campaign to convince allies to bar it from their 5G networks.