US pressure on South Africa to restrict Chinese technology, according to a diplomat

South Africa will continue to utilise Huawei technology despite pressure from the US, according to Anil Sooklal, Pretoria’s ambassador to Asia and the BRICS.

Speaking last week at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Sooklal claimed that “there was tremendous pressure” coming from Washington on Pretoria to “stop using the Huawei network.”

The diplomat said, “It is prohibited in the US, and much of Europe has prohibited Chinese technology.”

As a result of worries that the Chinese government would utilise Huawei’s crucial telecommunications infrastructure for spying, the business was sanctioned in the US in 2019.

According to Sooklal, Huawei has provided South Africa with thousands of opportunities for training and knowledge transfer over the years. South Africa and China are close commercial allies and BRICS members.

The opening of a Huawei innovation hub in Johannesburg last month was hailed by the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, as a step towards the continent’s entry into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.