Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has assured that the decision to ban the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is the one to be taken, the day after the announcement of his government which has been awaited for almost three years.

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"It's a responsible decision for Canada, it's a decision that protects Canadians, and it's a decision we're going to move forward with," he said on the sidelines. press conference held Friday in Sept-Îles, on the North Shore.

The Ministers of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne, and Public Security, Marco Mendicino, announced on Thursday the banning of Huawei and ZTE from Canada's 5G network, after an in-depth review by security agencies. security.

“People have been wondering for a long time when Canada is going to make this decision. […] We had a good time studying the situation and watching what our allies did, ”explained the Prime Minister.

Mr. Trudeau, however, remained quite evasive about the fear of possible repercussions from China.

“I think China, like all the different countries, will understand how much each country has the right to ensure the safety of its citizens,” he reacted when asked about the question.

“We are not alone, there are many of our allied partners around the world who have made similar decisions, because the reality is that in an era where we see the arrival of 5G , we know to what extent technologies will become even more present in our everyday lives,” he added.

For its part, China criticized this announcement from Ottawa, judging that it was a “baseless” ban.

The country said it would take “all necessary measures” to defend Chinese companies, without giving further details on these possibilities.

Recall that relations between China and Canada deteriorated after the arrest in December 2018 of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, during an extradition request from the United States.

The tension escalated when the two Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were imprisoned by China.

– With AFP