Rogers vice-chairman reportedly calls for banning Huawei from Canada’s 5G network

Canadian telecom provider Rogers Communications Inc.’s vice-chairman, Philip Lind, said on Thursday that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. should be banned from Canada’s 5G network, Bloomberg reported.

While Huawei is cheaper and sophisticated compared with other alternatives, its close relationship to the Chinese government is troubling, Mr. Lind told BNN Bloomberg in a TV interview.

U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to discuss the dispute with China over Huawei during a meeting in Ottawa on Thursday.

The United States has accused Huawei of being tied to China’s government, and has effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company for national-security reasons.

The dispute, which also involves Canada, has left Ottawa expressing frustration at what it sees as a lacklustre response from the United States to harsh Chinese measures.

In December, Canada arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou on a U.S. warrant. Subsequently, China arrested two Canadians on charges of espionage and stopped imports of key commodities from the Group of Seven country.