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Exclusive | The US-China telecoms battle will hurt 5G roll-out and technological innovation, experts say

  • ‘This focus on getting there first is pretty short-sighted,’ one panellist says at China Conference USA: Competition or Cooperation?
  • A senior US Huawei official says any security risks that concern the US and its allies can be addressed through well-designed safeguards

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The US struggle with China to dominate 5G telecoms networks threatens the roll-out of the technology, panellists at a conference in New York said Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Mark Magnierin New York

The US and China’s race for primacy over fifth-generation mobile technology threatens to impede its rapid roll-out to consumers and broader society as well as inhibit innovation – but the rivalry is unlikely to end any time soon.

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That was the view of technology experts addressing the future of 5G standards and the telecoms ecosystem at a conference focused on US-China issues in New York on Tuesday.

“It’s not really productive or accurate to talk about the race to 5G in a binary context or as a US-China race,” said Naomi Wilson, senior policy director with the Washington-based Asia Information Technology Industry Council, speaking at China Conference USA: Competition or Cooperation? sponsored by the South China Morning Post.

“This focus on getting there first is pretty short-sighted.”

From left: Donald Morrissey of Huawei; Naomi Wilson of the Asia Information Technology Industry Council; and Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation at China Conference USA in New York on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP
From left: Donald Morrissey of Huawei; Naomi Wilson of the Asia Information Technology Industry Council; and Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation at China Conference USA in New York on Tuesday. Photo: SCMP
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Panellists agreed that the ultimate objective was to see 5G – an advanced wireless technology that promises to greatly expand the amount of data available for a host of applications ranging from smart homes and autonomous vehicles to health care and entertainment – spread efficiently, safely and in keeping with different countries’ data and national security requirements.

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