英国重申欢迎华为投资

Downing Street has come out in support of Huawei Technologies amid growing concern in Westminster over the Chinese company’s crucial role in UK telecoms infrastructure.

英国首相府表态支持华为(Huawei Technologies)。目前英国议会对这家中国企业在英国电信基础设施中扮演的关键角色越来越担忧。

It emerged last week that MPs were investigating Huawei’s relationship with BT in the wake of a scathing US congressional report that claimed the company could pose a security risk.

在美国国会发布一份措辞严厉的报告，称华为可能构成一个安全风险后，上周传出的消息称，英国议会的一个委员会也在调查华为与英国电信(BT)之间的关系。

However, Downing Street insists it welcomes Huawei’s UK presence – weeks after Ren Zhengfei, the company’s founder, met David Cameron at Number 10 and announced a ￡1.3bn investment, creating 500 jobs.

不过，英国首相府坚称，欢迎华为在英国开展业务，就在几周前，英国首相戴维·卡梅伦(David Cameron)在唐宁街10号会晤了该公司创始人任正非，后者宣布在英投资13亿英镑，创造500个就业岗位。

“These are exactly the kind of jobs we need to rebalance the economy and compete in the global race, said a spokesman for the prime minister.

“这些正是我们推动经济再平衡、投入全球竞争所需的就业岗位，英国首相的一名发言人表示。

Huawei, the world’s second-largest network equipment vendor, has been a big UK supplier since striking a deal with BT in 2004. But it has struggled to make inroads in the US, in part because of concern over cyber security and the company’s alleged ties to the Chinese state.

华为现在是全球第二大网络设备供应商。自2004年与BT达成一笔交易以来，该公司就一直是英国电信基础设施的一大供应商。但它迄今难以打开美国市场，部分原因是美方担忧网络安全问题，以及该公司据称与中国政府之间的联系。

A report last week by the US House intelligence committee said that security procedures used in Britain to vet Huawei equipment would be inadequate in the US.

美国众议院情报委员会(House intelligence committee)上周一份报告称，英国用于审查华为设备的安全程序，达不到美国的标准。

The findings have increased scrutiny of Huawei in Westminster, where the Commons intelligence and security committee was already reviewing the company’s deal with BT before the US report.

这份报告的结论加大了英国议员们对华为的关注。在美方发布报告之前，英国下议院情报和安全委员会(Commons intelligence and security committee)已经在审查华为与BT达成的上述交易。

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former cabinet minister who chairs the committee, said the inquiry would explore the extent of government involvement in Huawei’s agreement with BT. “We want to ask .?.?. whether there are or were any concerns at any level, and what steps have been taken to remove the risks if there are concerns, said Sir Malcolm.

委员会主席、曾担任内阁部长的马尔科姆·里夫金德爵士(Malcolm Rifkind)表示，这项调查将探究政府介入华为与BT达成协议的程度。“我们想问……有没有在任何层面上存在或曾经存在任何担忧，如果存在担忧，有关方面采取了哪些步骤来消除风险，里夫金德表示。

Helen Goodman, Labour’s telecoms spokeswoman, said Huawei’s inward investment was important, but added: “In light of the US congressional report, a robust investigation into the security issues is both urgent and necessary.

英国工党的电信事务发言人海伦·古德曼(Helen Goodman)表示，华为对英国的投资是重要的，但她补充说：“面对美国国会的报告，对相关安全问题展开彻查既很紧迫，也很必要。

The Financial Times has established there were high-level talks between BT and the government eight years ago in which security considerations were discussed.

据英国《金融时报》掌握，8年前，BT曾与英国政府举行高层磋商，讨论安全事项。

Its UK-based rival Marconi lobbied hard against the deal, urging ministers to instead back it as a British company. But BT argued it could get good equipment from Huawei at a significantly lower price, which would benefit UK tele-coms users.

当时，华为在英国的竞争对手马可尼(Marconi)大力游说反对这笔交易，并敦促部长级官员支持自己这样的英国企业。但BT辩称，它能够以显著较低的价格从华为得到优质设备，最终给英国的电信用户带来实惠。

“I don’t recall that security was the issue uppermost in our minds, said one former Labour minister. “It was an article of faith for New Labour that you promote competition, and help consumers.

“就我记忆所及，当时安全不是我们考虑的首要问题，工党前政府的一名部长级官员表示。“对新工党来说，鼓励竞争和帮助消费者是一种信念。

Huawei has denied the US allegations, saying it is “disappointed by the report as it failed to provide clear information or evidence to substantiate the legitimacy of the committee’s conclusions, and accusing the US of coming to a “predetermined outcome.

华为否认了美国方面的指控，称其“对这份报告感到失望，因其未能提供明确的信息或证据使委员会的结论站得住脚，该公司还指控美方得出一个“预定的结果。

In the UK, Huawei says there are rigorous checks of its network equipment, and that visits to operations in the UK and Shenzhen ensure the security of crucial national infrastructure could not be compromised.

在英国，华为表示，其网络设备受到严格的检查，而相关人员亲临该公司在英国和中国深圳的经营地点，确保英国的关键国家基础设施不会被人做手脚。

Even so, the welcoming atmosphere that greeted Mr Ren a month ago has given way to a chillier mood. “I would hope that the government would look very carefully at the recent US congressional report, said Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the public administration select committee.

即便如此，仅仅一个月前迎接任正非的欢迎氛围，已变成一种更加冷淡的情绪。“我希望政府认真研究美国国会最近的报告，英国议会公共行政特别委员会(public administration select committee)主席伯纳德·詹金(Bernard Jenkin)表示。

Nigel Inkster, a senior fellow at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the issue was not Huawei but China’s broader dominance of information technology component manufacturing.

总部位于伦敦的国际战略研究所(International Institute for Strategic Studies)的高级研究员奈杰尔·英克斯特(Nigel Inkster)表示，问题并不在于华为，而是中国在信息技术零部件制造领域的整体主导地位。

“No US company can now build a 4G network using US-manufactured components. And companies like Cisco who build a lot of systems for the US government source their components from China, he said.

“如今，没有一家美国公司能够用美国制造的零部件建设一个第四代移动通信(4G)网络。像思科(Cisco)这样为美国政府建造很多系统的公司，也是要从中国采购零部件的，他表示。

Sir Malcolm Bruce, who sits on the joint security committee, said the US report appeared to reflect the “protectionist attitude of Washington. “It is important that we strike a very careful balance. We should protect our interests but not be over-protectionist or unreasonably hostile.

英国议会国家安全战略联合委员会(JCNSS)成员马尔科姆·布鲁斯爵士(Malcolm Bruce)表示，美国的报告似乎反映了华盛顿方面的“保护主义态度。“我们有必要审慎地达到一个平衡。我们应当保护我们的利益，但又不宜过分保护主义，或者表现出不合理的敌对态度。