According to a report published by Spiegel magazine on Friday citing internal company documents, Germany’s national railway operator would have to spend up to 400 million euros ($437.44 million) to replace all the components in its infrastructure supplied by Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies.

The German government is currently conducting what it says is a general review of the country’s telecoms tech suppliers, but given the pressure it is under from the US, it is perceived to be considering whether to ban certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from networks in the country.

Not content with having rigged the economic global governance deck in its favor, the US is also resorting to bullying and coercion to maintain its advantages.

The US government has banned approvals of Huawei’s new telecommunication products in November 2022, calling them « an unacceptable risk », and it forbids its companies from selling chips and other advanced products to Huawei. It has also been pressuring other countries to not use Chinese equipment.

Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador at large in charge of BRICS affairs, said the pressure his country was under not to use Huawei equipment was « tremendous » in a speech at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Aug 3.

But as he said, Huawei has provided South Africa with thousands of training and technology transfer development opportunities over the years, and he made it clear that South Africa would not stop using Huawei’s equipment in its domestic networks as it will do what is best for itself.

South Africa has made the right choice by insisting on using Huawei equipment despite the pressure it is under from the US. Germany and other countries should make the same decision as resisting the pressure from the US is also in their interest too.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has pointed out, the US has mobilized the whole of government to attack Huawei on the grounds that it poses a security risk without providing any evidence at any time to support that claim.

Although the US’ lies and bullying harm Huawei, it is pursuing a Pyrrhic victory, as even a win will be so costly to its allies and itself that it will actually constitute a catastrophic defeat.

South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from Aug 22 to 24, with the expansion of the group reportedly on the agenda. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Argentina have expressed their desire to join the group, which in standing up to the US and advocating a fairer world is viewed as a standard bearer for the Global South.

Most countries want the world to be open. If the US insists on building walls in this way, it will only find it is enclosing itself.