American allies allowing Huawei to build their next generation 5G networks could lead to an information security disaster, President Donald Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien has warned, NPR reported on Tuesday.
O'Brien said, "This isn't a theoretical threat," insisting that it would be difficult to have full intelligence sharing information with an ally whose network was tied to the Chinese telecommunications company.
The Trump administration has been pressing hard to convince other countries to keep Huawei out of its telecommunications systems.
Just last week, American officials said they registered some success, as the EU agreed its members should go for a "comprehensive and risk-based" approach to the seucrity of 5G, according to ItProPortal.
The State Department's deputy assistant secretary for cyber Rob Strayer told reporters, "We were very pleased to see the conclusions on 5G that the EU council released."
However, other nations contend that it is difficult to resist Beijing because the Chinese have has been offering cash, resources, and equipment needed for infrastructure and job-creating projects, something the U.S. has not been doing.
O'Brien said, however, that these governments are missing the point that the long-term consequences of dealing with Huawei equipment will be much more harmful than the short-term benefit they may currently be receiving.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.