Companies from more than 20 countries have signed commercial deals on fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks with Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei Technologies Co, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.



The comment was made after media reported that Japan's big three telecom operators plan not to use 5G equipment from China's Huawei and ZTE.



"Many countries believe Huawei is trustworthy and a partner for cooperation," said Lu Kang, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



Lu told the Global Times on Monday at a press briefing that Huawei is welcomed by Portugal, France and Germany.



"Such examples are enough to show that Huawei is gaining trust from an increasing number of global partners," Lu said.



The Chinese side has communicated with its Japanese counterpart through diplomatic channel concerning Japan's reportedly exclusion of China's Huawei and ZTE from the procurement list. Chinese companies should not be subject to any discrimination in operating in Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.



Huawei has already been locked out of the US market, and Australia and New Zealand have blocked it from building 5G networks over alleged security risks.



According to material sent to the Global Times by Huawei, the company has invested $600 million on 5G basic research since 2013. In 2017 alone, the company spent 4 billion yuan ($575 million) on developing 5G technology.



The number of commercial deals for 5G has amounted to more than 50 globally, the company said, noting that pilot projects consisting of over 100 base stations have been set up in Doha, London, and Seoul and over 10,000 5G base stations were shipped abroad.





