Donald Trump appears to have softened his stance on foreign companies by calling for the US to "win through competition, not by blocking out more advanced technology".
The 45th US President's comments came out on Thursday morning, via his preferred platform, Twitter. The tweets address the current state of 5G development in the US, which Trump said needed more effort from his country. He also mentioned "6G", which doesn't even exist as a concept.
"I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible," the President tweeted. "It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on..."
"...something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!"
The comments seemed to go against the President's previous actions, notably the executive order he signed in August 2018 which banned the US government and its contractors from using Huawei and ZTE technology. This was signed into place as a component of the much larger Defense Authorisation Act.
Telecoms giant Huawei has felt the brunt of most of the Trump administrations actions, finding itself in the middle of the on-going trade war between the US and China. US authorities have sought to convince allied nations off Huawei 5G technology, citing security fears over the company's ties to the Chinese government.
This has become an on-going source of trouble for the Chinese company, as the multiple European countries have expressed concern over the security of Huawei's technology.
In that time, it's CFO, Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company's founder Ren Zengfei, has been arrested and detained by Canadian authorities, at the request of the US, for violating trade sanctions with Iran. Again, the president seemed to say something that went against his administration's actions, suggesting in an interview that he could intervene in the Meng case.
"If I think it's good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made - which is a very important thing - what's good for national security, I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary," he said to Reuters.
The President is set to hold talks with the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Friday to work out a deal ahead of the 1 March deadline and find a solution to the trade war that's having an impact on technology companies.
