The Chinese telecommunications company Huawei has made the latest of several million-dollar commitments to Canadian universities for research into advanced communications. Huawei announced it is committing to invest between $2.5 and $3million at the University of British Columbia to support three years of new and ongoing research on advanced communication and 5G-related projects.
Over the past year, the Chinese firm has made several research commitments with Canadian universities such as University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and Ecole Polytechnique. In total, Huawei says it will invest over $10 million in research projects with Canadian universities in 2017.
U.S. officials warned of espionage
In 2012, there was controversy surrounding Huawei investments in several major Canadian telecommunications projects. At the time the former head of U.S. counter-espionage, Michelle K. Van Cleave told CBC News this “risks turning the information highway into a freeway for Chinese espionage against both the U.S. and Canada.”
The U.S. and Australia had already blocked Huawei from major telecom projects in those countries. Canada allowed them.
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