Germany does not plan to exclude Huawei from its 5G auctions, Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated on Tuesday, further dampening US hopes that the country would bend to pressure to boycott the Chinese business.

Ms Merkel said it was the German government's approach to "not simply exclude one actor, but rather we have requirements of the competitors for this 5G technology".

Her comments echoed earlier suggestions from Germany's economy minister, Peter Altmaier, that it did not want to ban Huawei from the 5G auction, which launched on Tuesday.

5G technology is the latest, high-speed generation of cellular mobile communications and Berlin will require winning bidders to offer the service to at least 98 percent of German households and along motorways and rail lines.

Mr Altmaier has previously said that there were no concerns about specific companies, but that each product "must be secure if it is going to be used in Germany".

The US has been ramping up pressure on its allies in recent months to also drop the Chinese equipment maker over what it says are espionage fears.

It argues that, because Huawei is a Chinese company, it is obliged to help China’s intelligence operations - a claim that Huawei denies.