European countries won’t ban Huawei from their markets because they see the firm as a reliable partner, the Chinese tech giant’s vice president has said in response to sweeping restrictions on the company imposed by the US.

“We don't think this can happen in Europe,” Catherine Chen told Italy’s Corriere della Sera after Huawei was officially blacklisted from doing business with US companies. The company has been working with European partners for “10 or 20 years” developing 5G and other solutions, she stressed.

“I believe they will make decisions independently,” the Huawei official said.

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Last week, the US Commerce Department announced that it would add Huawei and 70 affiliates to its so-called “Entity List,” which bans the telecom giant from buying parts and components from US companies without US government approval. However, the company has been granted a 90-day US general license, allowing the Chinese telecom to maintain its existing networks and provide users with software updates, even as it prepares for its blacklisting to go into effect.

The US continues to claim that Huawei’s products pose national security risks and serve as a mechanism for Chinese espionage through backdoors in its equipment. For its part, Huawei has accused the US of unfair market competition pointing out the US's own record of backdooring allies' communications.

Nevertheless, American efforts to convince European nations to bar Huawei from their 5G networks have failed so far – although Australia has agreed to adopt such a ban.

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