The Australian government was criticized by Chinese smartphone maker Huawei alleging that it was being prevented from selling 5G products in Australia.

National security was cited as the reasons for banning Shenzhen-based Huawei and its Chinese rival ZTE from tolling out 5G technology in Australia a few days ago.

The move by the Australian government was defined as “disappointing” by Huawei in a tweet and the company reiterated that it has been 15 years that it has been providing wireless technology in Australia “safely and securely”.

But a day after that tweet, the company became more aggressive and said that the decision by the Chinese government was “politically motivated.”

“It is not aligned with the long-term interests of the Australian people, and denies Australian businesses and consumers the right to choose from the best communications technology available,” Huawei said in an emailed statement to the media.

There were also no comments available from Australia’s Department of Communications and the Arts.

Last Thursday, the Australian government said that it would bar those companies that can be “subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law” from participating in 5G rollouts.

According to critics, Chinese smartphone companies such as Huawei and ZTE have become untrustworthy because the companies are legally required in China to cooperate with Chinese intelligence authorities. There have bene concerns that Huawei’s technology could be used to spy on customers in the US and some other western countries.

On Friday, Huawei said that it was not under any compulsion under Chinese law to install “backdoors or listening devices” to engage in espionage, and that the company had “never been asked to engage in intelligence work on behalf of any government.”

The issue of the company’s attempts to make some inroads into the US market has been repeatedly said by the company’s Chief Executive Richard Yu. Earlier in the year, the executive alleged that the American rivals of Huawei were playing politics to boot out the company out of the US market.

The rise of Huawei globally has been significant. The company has grown very fast globally and in the most recent second quarter, it dethroned Apple to become the second largest smartphone seller in the world.

For each and every top-ranking telecommunication firms, the development of 5G technology is very critical for their future prospects. There is a race among various companies in this segment to development of products for the next generation of wireless networks.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)

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