Washington's smear campaign against Huawei doomed to fail

US President Donald Trump said last week that he wants the United States to become a technology leader through open and fair competition rather than by blocking others of their "currently more advanced technologies." The message came as a surprise because US officials have been busy waging an aggressive smear campaign against Huawei, Chinese telecommunications equipment maker and the world's leading 5G technology player.

In the week leading to Trump's speech, US Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went from Warsaw to Munich to Brussels to pressure Europeans to ban Huawei from their 5G networks or face US "punishment".

Many expected Trump's words to put an end to the smear campaign, but they have proven ineffective. Major European countries have come out one after another, saying they will make their own decisions, and some have already refused to impose a total ban on Huawei as ordered by Washington.