LONDON (Reuters) – Britain can welcome foreign investment while also standing up for its values, business minister Alok Sharma said on Tuesday after China warned that a dispute over tech firm Huawei could threaten economic ties more broadly.
Britain has provisionally decided to let Huawei be involved in the development of the country’s 5G telecoms infrastructure, but it is under pressure from the United States to reverse course. A final decision is due in the coming weeks.
On Monday, China’s ambassador to London said a U-turn on its Huawei decision would damage Britain’s reputation as an open, business-friendly country.
“I don’t think there’s any inconsistency in welcoming inward investment and at the same time standing up for the UK’s values and interests and our security,” Sharma said.
He said he did not want to speculate on what the government’s decision on Huawei would be but U.S. sanctions on the company would have implications for Britain.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper, writing by Alistair Smout; Editing by William Schomberg)
