Britain wants the United States to form a club of 10 nations that could develop its own 5G technology and reduce dependence on China's Huawei, The Times newspaper reported Friday.
The reported proposal comes ahead of a planned G7 summit that US President Donald Trump hopes to host next month. Britain has allowed the Chinese global leader in 5G technology to build up to 35 percent of the infrastructure necessary to roll out its new speedy data network.
But Prime Minister Boris Johnson was reported by The Telegraph newspaper last week to have instructed officials to draw up plans to cut Huawei out of the network by 2023 as relations with China sour.
Now, The Times reports Britain is proposing a "D10" club of democratic partners that would include the G7 nations, Australia, South Korea and India. It said one of the options involved channelling investments into existing telecommunication companies within the 10 member states.