The US Department of Commerce has been drafting a new rule that would allow American firms to engage with Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei on 5G networks standards, Reuters reported on Friday, citing people close to the matter.
US regulators expect that the upcoming regulation, which is currently under final review at the Commerce Department and would go to other agencies for approval if cleared, will allow local companies to participate together with Huawei in standards setting meetings, where they will discuss about protocols and technical specifications related to 5G networks.
Since last May, US regulators have placed Huawei on an “entity list,” citing national security concerns, which bans American corporations from supplying goods and tech to the firm. The move also prevented engineers to engage with Huawei to develop 5G standards, even if Huawei is a strong player in the sector.
According to the sources, the rule will only affect Huawei and will not take into consideration other firms on the entity list such as video surveillance firms Hikvision and Dahua Technology.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.