China’s telecommunications giant Huawei recently signed an agreement with Russia’s MTS operator to develop 5G technology in the country next year, SCMP reported.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the official state visit to Russia by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
MTS said the deal will witness "the development of 5G technology and the pilot launch of the fifth generation network 2019 - 2020".
Mr. Guo Ping, Vice Chairman of Huawei’s Board of Directors and rotating Chairman, said the delight with the deal in a strategic strategic area like 5G.
Huawei is currently the leading company in the number of patents for 5G technology and owns dozens of 5G network development contracts around the world. However, many countries turn away from this Chinese enterprise after the hard-line moves of the US side.
Australia is the first name to ban Huawei and ZTE from participating in the development of 5G. The four largest Japanese carriers have also announced they will not use Chinese equipment to deploy the 5G network.
The 5G development contract with Russia is seen as the lifesaver of Huawei in the middle of "ambush".
In the middle of last month, the US Department of Commerce put Huawei "Entity List" - a list of businesses banned from buying components and technology from the US company without approval from the Government.
US President Donald Trump previously signed a decree banning US businesses from using telecommunications equipment from sources believed to be a national security threat.
The move of the US has brought a series of big names such as Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Panasonic, ARM stopped supplying to Huawei.
The visit of Mr. Xi Jinping to Russia takes place in the context of the US-China trade war has become increasingly fierce and spread to many other areas such as technology or tourism.
Prior to his visit to Russia, Xi made statements that emphasized his growing interest in the country and about the need to further tighten the relationship between Moscow and Beijing.
"I look forward to working with President Putin to promote the relationship between the two countries in the future and witness the strategic partnership of our comprehensive partners entering a new era" , CNBC quoted Xi in an interview with Russian news agency Tass earlier this week.
In 2018, China is one of Russia’s largest trading partners, with trade between the two countries increasing by 27.1% compared to 2017, reaching US $ 107 billion.
Meanwhile, Russia currently accounts for only about 1.8% of China’s export value, equivalent to about $ 44 billion in 2017.
