China’s Huawei receives permission to build £1bn research centre in England

Chinese tech giant Huawei has received approval to build a £1bn research and development (R&D) facility in England.

The firm said in a statement on Thursday the local council in Cambridge, where it acquired 500 acres of land two years ago, gave the green light to go ahead with the first phase of the project, which will create around 400 local jobs.

The facility is expected to cover 50,000 square meters across nine acres of land and is set to become Huawei’s international headquarters for its opto-electrical business.

But the development is likely to spark anger in the US, as well as among some British politicians who have said Huawei’s equipment can be used by China for spying and that Britain should reconsider a decision made in January to allow the firm a limited role in its 5G networks.

The announcement comes as former British prime minister Tony Blair said during a Reuters Newsmaker event on Thursday that the UK will have to side with the US in the decision.

“I think we do need to make a call and I think it has got to be pro-US in the end,” he said. “It is very hard for us not to be with the US on anything that touches US security.”

But Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, has denied Washington’s accusations and said it wants to frustrate the firm’s growth as no US company could offer the same range of technology at a competitive price.

Victor Zhang, vice president of Huawei, said of the new development: “The UK is home to a vibrant and open market, as well as some of the best talent the world has to offer.

“It’s the perfect location for this integrated innovation campus. Through close collaboration with research institutes, universities and local industry, we want to advance optical communication technology for the industry as a whole, while doing our part to support the UK’s broader industrial strategy.”

US officials have said the development project is part of a Chinese effort to expand its “surveillance state” in western countries. Washington placed Huawei, along with a Chinese video surveillance company Hikvision, on a trade blacklist last year over national security concerns.

Keith Krach, US under secretary, commented on the plans in a tweet: “With CCP it always starts with something innocuous like an R&D facility linked to a prestigious university.

“They donate money, hire grads and burnish their PR credentials. Then comes bullying, coercion and expansion of the surveillance state.”

Mr Krach told reporters earlier that the US is willing to help other countries purchase next-generation telecom technology from Western providers instead, so they can avoid Huawei.

British officials are in the process of reviewing ways to mitigate any security risk posed by Huawei in light of new US sanctions announced in may, which aim to cut off the firm’s supply of advanced microchips needed to make its equipment.

Mr Zhang told Reuters it was “simply wrong” to suggest its announcement was timed to influence the UK’s decision.

He said he could not comment on the government’s 5G review before it was finished, but that the research centre represented a significant investment in the UK.

“The UK definitely will care about the British interests and to develop, recover and grow the economy here,” he said.

Additional reporting by agencies