The announcement came a day after Papua New Guinea said it would uphold a deal with Huawei, illustrating the growing global divide over the risks of Chinese technology.
SYDNEY, Australia — New Zealand has blocked Huawei from building its next-generation mobile data network, joining the United States and other developed countries that see the Chinese telecom equipment company as a security threat.
New Zealand’s intelligence agency rejected a proposal from Spark, one of New Zealand’s biggest telecom companies, to use Huawei’s technology to build out the advanced, fifth-generation network, a technology known as 5G. Its involvement would raise “significant national security risks,” the company said Wednesday, citing a government statement.
The move follows a similar decision by Australia in August to ban Huawei from taking part in its 5G mobile infrastructure rollout, as well as mounting warnings from the United States that the Chinese company represents a security risk — an accusation the company strongly denies.
“The U. S. advocates for secure telecoms networks and supply chains that are free from suppliers subject to foreign government control or undue influence,” the United States Embassy in Australia said in a statement on Wednesday.
It added, “we routinely urge allies and friends to consider such risks and exercise similar vigilance in ensuring the security of their own telecoms networks and supply chains.”
Huawei said it was looking into the matter. “As the G. C. S. B. has noted, this is an ongoing process,” the company said in a statement, referring to the Government Communications Security Bureau of New Zealand.
