By combining their expertise, resources, and global reach, HPE and Juniper Networks can help challenge Huawei head-on with more advanced and secure capabilities.
In my years at senior levels of government and industry, I have often witnessed how technology is increasingly shaping global power. When I served as Deputy National Security Advisor, ensuring that the United States retained domestic control over the invisible yet indispensable networks that power our phones, businesses, and military was a top priority. As such, it does not surprise me that the reported recent debate inside the Department of Justice’s decision over whether to settle and permit Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) to acquire Juniper Networks is such a hot-button national news item today. The disposition of this merger and related decisions may affect whether America will lead the digital age — or cede it to China.
The stakes could not be higher. China’s Huawei controls 30 percent of the global market for network equipment, leveraging not only Beijing’s subsidies but also its aggressive initiatives to embed its 5G technology across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The reality of the situation — one that the Pentagon and Congress have emphasized — is that Huawei is, for all intents and purposes, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), building infrastructure that gives the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) both legal and illegal pathways to access data, shape global standards, and export digital authoritarianism.
As I experienced firsthand, policymakers are rarely faced with perfect choices. As such, some objectives take second or third place in order to meet urgent national security imperatives.
When I oversaw export controls at the Commerce Department, I saw how China’s “Made in China 2025” plan and 5G Belt and Road initiatives were implemented in order to lock entire regions into dependence on Chinese supply chains. Rural communities, in particular, were vulnerable — unaware that the promise of cheap networks came at the high price of potential predatory network infiltration.
Secure networks are the backbone of everything that matters now and in the future: artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and the weapons systems that keep us safe. If China dominates 5G, it not only gains economic leverage, but benefits from increased control over the flow of critical data and development of some emerging technologies. If much of the globe relies on Chinese-made infrastructure, Beijing, not Washington, will set global standards, and America and its friends and allies will be far worse off.
The US intelligence community reportedly views the HPE-Juniper deal as an opportunity to hold China back. In late July, one sitting senior official told Axios that the deal “serves the interests of the United States by strengthening domestic capabilities and is critical to countering Huawei and China.”
That expert is right. By combining their expertise, resources, and global reach, these two American companies can help challenge Huawei head-on with more advanced and secure capabilities. The merger will enable the combined entity to invest at scale in AI-driven networking, create jobs, and build the kind of competitor we need to restore American leadership in some of the essential technologies that will define this century.
Some critics have argued that the DOJ’s deal risks market consolidation at home. That is a traditional and often valid view of market competition that dominated 20 century government policies and prevailed under the previous administration. However, while many technology advances emerge from small, disruptive innovators, some challenges can only be tackled with size and scale. It is also worth noting that Cisco, today’s networks leader in the United States, will still remain larger than HPE and Juniper put together.
Today, the real and immediate threat isn’t a merged HPE-Juniper, but a US networks industry that is significantly hindered in competing with a PRC-backed giant like Huawei. Without a resilient American tech sector, America will not just lose global market share; it will also cede influence to a pernicious rival that does not play by any rules.
The United States, and this administration, have turned the page on treating national security and economic policy as separate matters. In today’s world, they are one and the same.
The DOJ has taken an important step, and others in Washington should take note. Congress can enable the adoption of new technology approaches by reducing red tape for innovators or ensuring strategic investment in critical R&D such as 5G and 6G if needed. The Pentagon’s efforts to expand public-private partnerships and bring disruptive innovators in early, can be extended to other agencies with vital missions such as the Department of Energy.
There is a role for diplomacy as well — rallying America’s global partners to avoid embracing technology from Chinese entities such as Huawei and urge the adoption of American and allied 5G solutions. There should be no doubt that alliances such as NATO can be weakened by networks that can be infiltrated by Chinese-controlled entities and technologies.
The HPE-Juniper decision is one significant step toward enabling America’s economic leadership. In the years to come, more forward-thinking policy making will be needed to secure and maintain America’s global economic dominance.
About the Author: Mira Ricardel
Mira Ricardel served as Deputy National Security Advisor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Eurasia and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. She was the primary adviser to the US Secretary of Defense regarding Europe, Eurasia, NATO, nuclear forces, missile defense and arms control.
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