Britain is weighing whether to allow Huawei to play a role in its new 5G networks. The company’s equipment is already being used in the country, but American authorities have raised new questions about the gear and the risks it poses to national security. The United States has threatened to restrict the intelligence it shares with countries that allow Huawei in its 5G networks.

Huawei has become a central piece of the trade dispute between the United States and China. After the American government recently blacklisted Huawei and threatened the company’s access to American technology, Beijing has moved to retaliate against American companies. Over the past week, Chinese authorities summoned major international tech companies to warn that they could face consequences if they cooperated with the Trump administration’s ban on sales of key American technology to Chinese companies.

“In this country at the moment there is a big debate: Should we be following what the Americans are trying to argue we should do, excluding Huawei, or should we include them and manage the risk?” Norman Lamb, the chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, said during the hearing on Monday.

Image John Suffolk, Huawei’s global cybersecurity and privacy officer, said the company would never undermine the safety of its equipment to satisfy demands from Beijing. Credit... Wang Zhao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

British authorities have for years subjected Huawei products and code to review at a security facility about 80 miles outside London. While British intelligence officials have said the risk of Huawei can be mitigated, a government report issued in March highlighted “significant” security problems with the company’s equipment. The report didn’t link any of the flaws to the Chinese government.