By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com
Published: 15:07 GMT, 21 February 2019 | Updated: 15:16 GMT, 21 February 2019
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President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. must lead the world in next-generation 5G cell phone technology – and whatever comes next – less than 90 minutes after Huawei's founder boasted on television of China's lead in the tech race and thanked U.S. officials for boosting his bottom line by publicly fretting about it.
In what appears to be a signal of a coming policy shift, the president tweeted Thursday that he wants the U.S. 'to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies.'
While the Trump administration considers the Chinese tech giant's equipment a national security threat, the Shenzhen-based company has 5G rollout contracts with nearly 30 other countries. 5G networks will move data dramatically faster than existing 4G signals.
Allowing Huawei's mobile phone equipment back into U.S. markets could be a carrot for Beijing as Trump's negotiators hash out a new trade framework with the world's second largest economy.
'We are rolling out 5G and soon we'll welcome 6G. And in the future ... there will be new equipment that is suitable for the United States' Huawei founder Ren Zhenfei said in a 'CBS This Morning' interview, speaking through a translator.
A White House official said
