US lawmakers laud India's 'no China firms for 5G' stand

New Delhi: India's decision not to invite Chinese telecom companies to conduct 5G trials in the country has been greatly greeted by US lawmakers.

On Tuesday, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had granted approval to nearly a dozen companies to conduct a six-month trial for users and applications of 5G technology. The telecom service providers (TSPs) included Bharti Airtel, Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd, Vodafone Idea Ltd and MTNL but not Chinese entities found a place in the list.

"India's decision to exclude Huawei and ZTE from its 5G trials is good news for the people of India and the world," said Michael McCaul, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican and China Task Force Chairman in a statement on Wednesday.

Previously, the Trump administration had designated Chinese tech companies as posing a national security risk.

The US is also asking its friends and allies not to opt for a technology that is controlled by the Communist Party of China.

"It's a risk that can't be mitigated unless these companies are excluded from our networks, and I'm glad that India has recognized this threat. India has once again proven why it is a global leader in the fight against security threats posed by CCP-controlled technology, McCaul said.

Congressman Mike Waltz also thanked India for its decision.

"Thank you to India for denying the inclusion of CCP-run Huawei in their telecommunications, he said.

"As the world's largest democracy, India will be a critical ally in confronting China and securing our supply chains, Waltzs added.

Additionally, there have been demands from the industry stakeholders like the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to ban Huawei and ZTE Corporation of China from participating in the 5G network rollout in India.