Huawei letter says company needs 3-5 years time to ally British security fears

A $2 billion effort by China's Huawei to address security issues raised in a British government report last year will take between three and five years to produce results, according to a company letter to British lawmakers seen by Reuters. Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, faces intense scrutiny in the West over its relationship with the Chinese government and U.S.-led allegations that its equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. No evidence has been produced publicly and the firm has repeatedly denied the claims, but the allegations have led several Western countries to restrict Huawei's access to their markets.

Huawei has since committed to spending $2 billion on technical and supply-chain issues, but in a letter to lawmakers last week, Ryan Ding, president of the company's carrier business group, said it would take up to five years to see results. "Enhancing our software engineering capabilities is like replacing components on a high-speed train in motion," he said in a letter to the chairman of the British parliament's science and technology committee. "It is a complicated and involved process, and will take at least three to five years to see tangible results. We hope the UK government can understand this." 

(With inputs from agencies.)