Huawei Is the Wrong Way, Lenovo Is Accepted by the USA

Huawei is the wrong way. Do you remember the word game the US Embassy made to show Romania the right path regarding the 5G tender? Yes, at that moment, Huawei had a major ‘flaw.’ It was Chinese. Following the American way, Romania adopted legislation to ban Chinese companies from participating in the 5G tender.

The law gives the Supreme Council of Defense of the Country (CSAT) the last word regarding the authorization of projects. It excludes the Chinese company Huawei from the 5G equipment manufacturing and operating on Romanian soil. CSAT is led by the leaders who signed the strategic partnership with the USA and are very pro-American.

To be able to participate in the construction of 5G telecommunications networks in Romania, a company must meet several conditions, among which it should not be under the control of a foreign government, in the absence of an independent legal system, it has a transparent shareholder structure and no history of unethical corporate conduct, and it is subject to a legal system that imposes transparent corporate practices.

The law states that the CSAT’s compliant opinion “refers to the obligations assumed by the Romanian state within the framework of cooperation at the level of international organizations of which Romania is a part, of the European Union and bilateral strategic partnerships.” Of course, the Romanian – American is the one that stands out among these strategic partnerships the rule mentions. This is why everybody thought Chinese companies would never be able to implement their 5G technology in Romania, at least as long as the partnership with the USA is in force.

The surprise came out just recently when Romania authorized Lenovo to use the very 5G equipment Huawei is forbidden to utilize. The Government’s decision says that:

LENOVO GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY HK LIMITED is granted authorization for the use of 5G infrastructure equipment, provided that the technologies, equipment or software products sold under its name or brand come from economic operators approved under Law no. 163/2021 regarding the adoption of measures related to IT and communications infrastructures of national interest and the conditions for the implementation of 5G networks.

Romanian Government’s decision of accepting Lenovo as 5G operator

Let us get this straight: Lenovo is a Chinese company, right? So, where is the explanation for all these decisions? It’s just one thing: the Americans have never said that China is the wrong way, only that Huawei is the wrong way. The Romanian journalists interpreted it as the USA forbidding Chinese companies to operate 5G networks and equipment in Romania. But they have never said that.

What was Huawei’s fault for not being accepted to participate in the 5G tender in Romania? The thing is, Lenovo, a Chinese company, is allowed to do what Huawei wasn’t. An explanation might be that Lenovo had been connected to Hong Kong, a former UK territory, which probably offered more transparency in their technological and commercial practices than Huawei, which is pure Chinese.

The reality is that, for one reason or another, the Chinese equipment is again agreed upon in Romania. The USA works in mysterious ways.