US wants Hungary to "stop Huawei"

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this on Monday during his visit to Hungary, Tanjug is reporting, citing AP.

The agency said that the Chinese telecommunications company is "a major player in Hungary" - while Pompeo said he would tell PM Viktor Orban and other officials that cooperation with that company represents "risk to information security and privacy and could harm cooperation with the US."

According to AP, US officials are very concerned because of Huawei's expansion in Europe, especially in NATO members like Hungary, because they consider this to represent "a great threat."

"They are a sovereign nation. They get to make their own decisions. What is imperative is that we share with them the things we know about the risks that Huawei's presence in their networks present - actual risks to their people, to the loss of privacy protections for their own people, to the risk that China will use this in a way that is not in the best interest of Hungary," Pompeo said, and added:

"It also makes it more difficult for America to be present. That is, if that equipment is co-located where we have important American systems, it makes it more difficult for us to partner alongside them."

The US has on many occasions accused China of using technology to steal secrets, while China denied this, saying the US wants to get rid of a competitor.