Donald Trump issues order to protect US communications from foreign adversaries after Huawei warning

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aimed at stopping foreign adversaries from taking advantage of technological vulnerabilities to threaten US communications systems.

The order the White House announced on Wednesday does not name specific countries or companies but the administration has been trying to stop allied nations including the UK from using equipment from the Chinese tech company Huawei.

In August, Mr Trump signed a bill that barred the US government from using equipment from Huawei and China’s ZTE Corp.

The US, which is embroiled in an escalating trade war with China, has sounded warnings about Huawei’s efforts to expand into Europe.

The US worries that China could use Huawei to gain access to private, commercial or other information that could compromise Nato and allied intelligence operations.

More on Huawei 5G deal and the UK leak inquiry: