India’s Huawei Conundrum

Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant, has emerged as a key player in the provision of infrastructure required to support 5G wireless networks, the adoption of which will be foundational to recipient countries’ deployment of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of things. At the same time, however, security concerns with respect to Huawei’s ties to the Chinese army and state abound, prompting a number of countries to ban the company from supplying them said telecom infrastructure. India, however, is on the fence in this regard. This article assesses India’s Huawei conundrum through a conceptual framework of economic dependence wherein the costs of a ban and willingness to ban are examined in detail. It is argued that since the expected costs of banning Huawei equipment and the security risks of using them are both substantially high, India’s course of action must be to defer a quick decision and bargain for benefits and assurances.