The West has long taken pride in claiming the moral high ground with regard to the rule of law, a just and transparent business environment and a level playing field for businesses, while at the same time accusing China of lacking them. But the way some Western countries are suppressing the development of the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei gives the lie to these claims and shows them to be nothing more than a means to an end.

So much for the presumption of innocence — Huawei has been declared guilty without a trial and without any hope of appeal in the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, all of which have banned the use of its equipment. And the European Union seems set to follow suit.

It doesn't take the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to see the United States is the common factor in this witch hunt, as the others are all its go-to allies. Their actions are a concerted effort to use national security as an excuse to destroy the legitimate business operations of the Chinese company which are in full swing.

Why? Because as Ren Zhengfei, CEO and founder of Huawei, said in a rare interview recently there are only a few manufacturers in the world that can make 5G products, and Huawei is the best of them, and it is currently the only manufacturer in the world that is capable of equipping 5G base stations with the state-of-the-art microwave technology.

So despite the fact Huawei has been operating in 170 countries worldwide, including in developed countries, without causing any concerns, and despite the fact it has signed 30 5G commercial contracts and delivered more than 25,000 5G base stations worldwide without being involved in any security incident, the US — perhaps concerned it will no longer be able to spy on everyone if it is not the one that has supplied the equipment, it being the only one known to do so — has been rounding up its allies to conduct a smear campaign against the Chinese company.

That its allies have readily joined the politically motivated game the US has orchestrated is extremely disappointing as it shows they have surrendered any autonomy of action. It is especially upsetting that the EU might decide to join them, as China has always considered the bloc to be a comprehensive strategic partner that it can work with to uphold rules-based multilateralism and oppose the might-is-right unilateralism of the US.

However, it is evident that the fear mongering of the US has been paying off, and its allies are willing to follow its lead in violating free business competition and the rule of law for a pat on the back. Even the US' highhanded action in pursuing Huawei's chief financial officer has not given these countries pause for thought.

Instead of letting the US tell it what to do, the EU should exercise its own discretion.