China's Huawei gets permission to participate in 5G trials

In October, the India head of Huawei,  Jay Chen, said the company is ready to enter into a "no backdoor" agreement with India to allay security concerns, as India was preparing to launch 5G networks.

India, the world's second-biggest wireless market by users, will hold an airwaves auction for 5G services before March, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said recently.

The government has been delaying taking a decision on allowing or banning Huawei from the test runs amid a US-led push to shut out the Chinese tech and telecoms group, saying its gear contained "back doors" that would enable China to spy on other countries. Beijing denies such a plan.

The decision to allow Huawei to participate in the 5G trials comes at a time when the US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law last week, has slowed the lifting of sanctions against the company. China on Thursday said it "firmly opposes" trade restrictions included in a new US defence act, having already admonished the bill for interfering in its internal affairs.