Huawei: The PP's new goldmine against Pedro Sánchez

MadridThe People's Party (PP) intends to portray Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as a leader surrounded by corruption and, since the beginning of the term, has not missed an opportunity to insist. Now it wants to try again with the controversy surrounding the Chinese multinational Huawei, with which the Spanish government signed a €12.3 million contract to store data. This Wednesday, the PP's Secretary General, Miguel Tellado, even spoke of the "Huawei case" and is already requesting the appearance of several Spanish government ministers to explain themselves, despite the fact that no legal proceedings are currently underway in this regard. There is, however, a warning from the European Commission, recommending that member states not work with the Chinese multinational to avoid security risks.

These are the key points of the controversy that has grown in the middle of August:

What is the contract in question?

The controversy arose a few days ago over a €12.3 million contract from the Ministry of the Interior involving the Chinese technology company Huawei. This is an existing contract that has now been extended for the purchase of storage equipment to safeguard judicial wiretaps, sources from the Ministry of the Interior told ARA. "The supplier company is not the one that stores the information; rather, it is under the custody of the data processing centers of the National Police and the Civil Guard," the same sources clarify, adding that the equipment purchased is from Huawei to store information in police stations, and that this company has access to it. In fact, these same sources add that the contract was not awarded "directly to Huawei," but to "national and international companies listed in the system" that subsequently made the purchase from the Chinese giant.

The PP believes that this contract "puts the security of Spain and its allies at risk," as Juan Bravo, the head of economic affairs for the Popular Party, stated this Tuesday. Alma Ezcurra, the PP's deputy secretary for sectoral coordination, has also expressed similar views, calling the company "unreliable." This Wednesday, the party's secretary general, Miguel Tellado, reiterated: "It could compromise national security."

The Popular Party is demanding that the government provide an explanation for the contract and has requested the appearance of Antonio Hernando, current Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure within the Ministry for Digital Transformation headed by Óscar López (PSOE), as well as the ministers of the Interior, Justice, and Defense.

What is the PP's argument?

The PP justifies its accusations by the mistrust Brussels has shown toward Huawei. The European Commission has long since launched an offensive against the Chinese multinational, following in the footsteps of the United States, in which the company suffers severe restrictions (there, the offensive began with Barack Obama, was maintained by Joe Biden, and has accelerated with Donald Trump).

The EU executive considers Huawei to constitute a sufficiently "high" risk to the security of the European Union to "justify" its exclusion when deploying the 5G network in member states, a recommendation that some countries have adopted, such as Lithuania (which does not count like France, while others are just starting, as are Sweden), the Czech Republic, and Romania. However, the warning does not constitute a veto for the company..

One of the main reasons behind the US and Brussels crusade against the tech giant is the never-proven assumption that Huawei leaks information to the Chinese government or even opens the door to espionage. Since 2017, China has required the country's companies to provide intelligence services with all the information they request.

Added to all this is the the record from last March by Belgian police at Huawei's headquarters in Brussels for an alleged case of corruption in the European Parliament (the Chinese company would have offered gifts and bribes in exchange for preferential treatment in political decisions).

In any case, the PP's targeting of the Chinese company contradicts the statements and gestures of some of its members towards the multinational. Without going any further, the Community of Madrid, under the government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), inaugurated in 2021 a hub Huawei's technological center in the city (the largest in Europe) and opened the Huawei Spain Academy in December of last year. However, in 2014, the government of Mariano Rajoy (PP) already launched contracts with Huawei during an official visit to Shanghai, as reported by the agency Reuters.

What does the Spanish government say?

The Spanish government, for now, is defending the contract. Sources from the Ministry of the Interior indicate in the ARA that the contracting of these systems "does not entail any risk to national security or to the stored material" and reiterate that the supplier company is not responsible for storing the information.

"There is a continuous evaluation of the use of this data. [...] The risk of misuse or malpractice is zero," said Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo in an interview with The Country This Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Chinese company has also defended itself against the PP's accusations: "All Huawei products available on the Spanish market strictly comply with local laws and regulations," the multinational said in statements to Europa Press.

Why does the PP talk about "corruption"?

But the PP has used the controversy to go beyond a concern for "national security" and speak of "corruption" surrounding the contract. "It's another byproduct of the enormous corruption surrounding the Spanish government," stated Tellado, who even referred to a "Chinese plot." In fact, there was already controversy last week over the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, during a trip to China. met with representatives of the multinational, although with the argument of thanking them for their role at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Behind this accusation is the fact that the consulting firm Acento, founded by José Blanco, a former high-ranking official of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero's government, is the one that advises Huawei in Spain, and it is here where the PP sees "hidden interests." Other socialist figures have worked (and continue to work) at this agency, such as Antonio Hernando himself, currently Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Pedro Sánchez's strongman. However, Acento is a company that also includes former members of the PP, such as Alfonso Alonso. Acento came out on Wednesday to deny any connection with the contract awarded to Huawei: "Commercial activities or contracting with public administrations are absolutely outside our scope of action."

Beyond the PP-PSOE controversy

Beyond the controversy sparked by the PP, there are other elements at play around the contract that affects Huawei and that help explain why the debate is heating up.

The first element is the rivalry between the United States and China to be the world's leading power, which already led Barack Obama to curb the role of the technology multinational within the country. This not only benefits the American technology giants that share with it, but we must also take into account that all decisions that affect Huawei in economic terms directly impact China: the company is the leading technology company in the Asian country. This competition has intensified with Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, although The European Union is trying to get closer to ChinaDifferences over Vladimir Putin and trade conflicts are complicating their relationship. Furthermore, despite rising tensions with the US, the EU executive is balancing efforts to maintain ties with a country on which it still depends. In this context, Pedro Sánchez's government has championed building bridges with Beijing—it was a pioneer in visiting it during the height of the tariff war with Trump—something that Alberto Núñez Feijóo's People's Party (PP) has criticized from the outset.

Added to this is the technological element. Huawei has managed to sign contracts all over the world because it offers lower prices and high technical quality. In this way, it has gained ground while other companies, including European ones (Ericsson and Nokia), have lost ground. Now that Europe is looking for ways to strengthen its strategic autonomy, especially in telecommunications and security, Brussels sees this as a problem.

Have the US and Europe responded to the contract?

Both the United States and Brussels have referred to them.Spain is playing with fire [...] by opening its doors to Huawei," warned the heads of the US Senate and House intelligence committees in a press release two weeks ago. The European Commission's spokesperson for Technological Sovereignty, Thomas Regnier, recalled Huawei from its 5G networks a few days ago "because the Chinese company "represents a much greater risk" than other suppliers, he told Efe when asked about the contract.

The truth is that some member states have already banned or restricted the use of Huawei products. "In Spain this has not happened, but in Spain this has not happened, but Huawei is trying to anticipate future restrictions," highlights a recent report by the Elcano Royal Institute.