Britain’s Embrace of Huawei Is Really About Brexit

The divorce from Europe is on its way, so Britain is under greater pressure to keep China as a trading partner. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision not to ban Huawei Technologies Co. outright was the easier choice. That doesn’t mean it was the right one. The U.S. has been vociferously pushing for countries to exclude telecommunications equipment made by the Chinese firm, saying it’s vulnerable to hacking by state-sponsored actors from its home nation. But Huawei also has some of the most advanced gear for next-generation 5G networks. It’s a conundrum.