Concern over Huawei ahead of 5G auction

"We must not be discouraged by malicious incidents or temporary setbacks, and must remain determined to achieve global leadership," Guo said.

The incidents Guo referred to are likely to include the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of US law enforcement officials.

Guo also posited that any nation that excludes Huawei hardware will struggle to keep up in the race to deploy 5G.

"For 5G markets that choose to not work with Huawei-they will be like an NBA game without star players," he said.

Guo said the company will continue undeterred, despite being left out in the cold by several nations. He said Huawei managed to secure 26 5G contracts worldwide in 2018 and posted a 21 percent increase in revenue, to $109 billion.

As European 5G auctions near, some providers have already shunned Huawei.

Last month, network provider Orange confirmed it will not consider Huawei 5G bids in France.

British operator BT has also confirmed it will not consider bids from Huawei, though the company still remains active in Britain's 5G market, having conducted technology trials with both Vodafone and Three last year.

In Germany, Huawei has worked with major network provider Deutsche Telekom on 5G trials in Berlin since early 2018.

Members of the German interior and foreign ministries have reportedly urged the government to reconsider allowing Huawei to participate in 5G auctions expected early this year.

In an effort to allay security concerns, Huawei has agreed to open an information security lab in Germany that will enable source code reviews.

A similar center was established in Britain in 2010 to mitigate any perceived risks to critical national infrastructure. The Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre is monitored by a government oversight board that includes officials from the UK National Cyber Security Center.

In July, the oversight board said it could provide "only limited assurance" that all risks to national security from Huawei's involvement in UK networks have been sufficiently mitigated.

Last month, Huawei agreed to commit $2 billion to improve its mobile and internet network systems in the UK, following a meeting with security officials, according to media reports.

Concerns have arisen that other large telecommunications companies would struggle to fill the void in Huawei's absence.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, executives at a major British wireless carrier told the Wall Street Journal that banning Huawei from tenders could delay 5G roll out in the UK by nine months, which would impact the greater economy.

The executives said that Huawei is capable of delivering hardware nearly a year before European competitors Nokia and Ericsson.