China’s biggest maker of computer chips, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., placed the order with ASML in April last year for its cutting-edge machine, which is needed to produce the latest, most powerful chips. But that shipment is now “pending later notice,” three people close to the situation said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday cast doubt on whether Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies could participate in the development and construction of the country’s fifth-generation data network (5G)
Maas told reporters in Berlin that Huawei was a company dependent on the Chinese state due to its national security laws, which meant Huawei was obliged to pass on information to the government there.
Germany therefore wants to add a test of trustworthiness to the 5G security catalogue that so far had mainly envisaged an evaluation of technical criteria, Maas said.
In this test of trustworthiness, German authorities will examine if a company is forced by law in its home country to pass on information and data that actually should be protected, Maas said, adding: “That’s the case with Huawei.”