Bolsonaro Mentions 5G Auction in Brazil, Is Non-committal on USA-China Dispute

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro is on an official visit to China, and stated on Friday, October 25th, that he will not position himself at the moment on the trade dispute involving China and the USA.

He had previously held private talks with US President Donald Trump about Huawei and said that Brazil will prioritize the best bids in the 5G auction.

This is a delicate situation: the Brazilian government does not want to upset the US, but it does not want to drive Huawei away from the country. The company has manufactured 70,000 of the 86,000 radio antennas in operation in Brazil; it accounts for two-thirds of the 5G antennas outside China.

Earlier this week, Bolsonaro said that the 5G issue “is not on my radar,” and that the Chinese only talked to Vice President Hamilton Mourão about it. According to Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, the issue was not on the bilateral meetings’ agenda in Beijing.

So, on Friday, Bolsonaro told Folha newspaper that the country will wait for the best offer in the 5G auction, to be held in 2020, because “we can not lag behind in technology”.

He added that “Brazil has always excelled in seeking trade and not hurting feelings”. The president also disclosed that he had previously had a private talk with Trump about Huawei, without going into details.

The US disclose risks on 5G to Brazil

Wilbur Ross, the US Secretary of Commerce, told Valor news magazine in August that he offered “restricted” and “sensitive” information to the Brazilian government about the risks of 5G, not to mention companies like Huawei. “Brazil has good technology and is in a position to find out for itself where the risks lie.”

According to him, all countries should be “very, very attentive about who the seller [of 5G technologies] is, what are the implications, what are the relationships of the seller that may have negative effects”.

According to the secretary, “there is a law in China that requires private companies to cooperate with the military and intelligence services, keeping the level of cooperation secret”.

Yang Wanming, China’s ambassador in Brazil, rebutted saying that this law does not exist: “such words are totally unfounded and fabricated… these comments aim to cast slander on Chinese products claiming security risks and hinder normal economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries”.

The ambassador recently said on the 5G bid in the country that “Huawei will not be banned”. The company holds the largest number of 5G patents in the world.

Source: Tecnoblog