Germany has no intention of barring Huawei from building 5G network

Germany does not want to ban Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies from building its 5G networks, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Thursday, adding that Berlin would tighten security criteria for all vendors instead.

Asked on a ZDF television talk show if the government plans to ban Huawei from the upcoming 5G auction due to concerns over the global market leader's ties to the Chinese government, Altmaier said: "No, we will not want to exclude any company."

But the government will change the law to ensure that all components used in the 5G networks will be secure and that there will be no violations against data protection rules, he added.