Huawei’s 5G plan hits roadblock as Germany set to debar licensing

Hardliners in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government are fighting for the powers to keep Huawei Technologies Co. out of Germany’s fifth-generation mobile networks.

The cyber-security hawks are concerned that Huawei could help China steal secrets from German companies or even the state and are pushing for strict criteria on equipment suppliers before the government begins the process of issuing 5G licenses in two weeks’ time, according to three people familiar with talks in Berlin.

While the cabinet has decided that an outright ban on the Chinese equipment maker would be legally impossible, officials across the administration are demanding tools that would allow them to block Huawei equipment from being used all the same, the people said.