What does the alliance between Russia and Huawei mean?
Listen to this article
The Chinese company will coordinate with the Slavic country to develop 5G technology
Recently, Vladimir Putin's Government has closed a series of commercial agreements with Xi Jinping' Government that deal with the development of 5G technology in Russia by the Chinese company Huawei. In the middle of the commercial war between the Eastern country and the United States, this seems an agreement that reevaluates some geopolitical aspects in the relations between multinationals and sovereign States.
Leer en español: ¿Qué significa la alianza entre Rusia y Huawei?
The development of 5G technology is the next step in the competition for technology and could impact the lives of people on a large scale. Not only does it mean that the transfer of information will increase in capacity and speed, it could also represent the democratization of smart cars and homes.
According to CCN, there are several actors that are looking to consolidate the 5G as part of a technological career. The United States, of course, is leading in the efforts from the private and public sectors, so much so that President Donald Trump has made it one of his priorities to establish a kind of sovereignty through the establishment of technology from the West.
What are the implications of the agreement?
According to TeleSur, thirty agreements were signed between Russia and China, the majority of these are commercial and represent almost 22 billion dollars. The agreements were signed in a context of unprecedented commercial success for both countries that have closed 2018 with 100 billion dollars that come from commercial exchange.
Also read: What is the 5G network? The next great technological innovation
What would force two distant powers to unite in this way? The answer is hegemony. To counteract the influence of the West, 5G technology turns out to be one of the tools of the future for Russia and China. The trade war that Trump has initiated with China presents the perfect opportunity to Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to question and react against the position of the United States as a hegemonic power.
The key to understanding this is the concept of sovereignty. Putin himself observes US international policy as a sign of "technological war," he said last week at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The sovereignty is key in this problem, because the powers that manage to establish technology like 5G, both in its area of influence and outside it, would succeed in extending its hegemony over other nations.
According to the interview that Donald Trump gave to the Sunday Times during his visit to the United Kingdom, the position of the United States against the alliance between Huawei and Russia is "a threat to the national security" of his country. Achieving a 5G network with the least participation of rival powers such as China and Russia allows the West to safeguard its security interests, as well as to prevent the strengthening of foreign influence. The same can be said from the other side, as they seek to depend less on tools of the West. Behind this reasoning, for example, is the creation by the Chinese government of its own social networks for its population.
It may interest you: Goodbye to the Huawei Empire?
Finally, there is another factor worth reviewing: the relationship between multinationals and sovereign states. It is a common practice of industrial powers to defend the economic interests of companies that have arisen in their country as a vehicle for extending influence and hegemony. That Huawei, as a multinational, is part of the Russia-China deal allows both countries to consolidate their sovereignty as States outside the sphere of influence of the West, as well as allowing them to strengthen their economic presence in front of European and North American companies.
LatinAmerican Post | Iván Parada Hernández
Translated from "¿Qué significa la alianza entre Rusia y Huawei?"
