Guess which company sponsored the most pollies' overseas free trips: ****** Thanks for watching, subscribe for more videos: ****** Chinese tech company Huawei has sponsored more politicians' overseas travel than any other By Dylan Welch, ABC Investigations Global tech company Huawei has become the biggest corporate sponsor of overseas travel for Australia's federal politicians, new research released on the eve of a crucial decision by Canberra about Australia's lia's digital future reveals. Key points:A new report shows Huawei paid for more than one in five corporate-sponsored trips over the last eight yearsHuawei sponsored almost twice as many trips to China as the Chinese Government during the same periodThe ABC has spoken to four senior Australian officials who believe Huawei will be denied access to the new 5G network The research is based on 12 trips by Australian federal politicians to visit Huawei's headquarters in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The trips involved business class flights, domestic travel, free accommodation and meals. The international flights alone would have cost tens of thousands of dollars.5G decision looms The new report comes amid government debate about whether the Chinese telco giant should be allowed to provide equipment for Australia's next generation communications network, 5G. Several politicians have called for the company to be banned due to national security concerns. A decision about locking certain companies out of the 5G network is expected to be made by the National Security Committee of Cabinet in the next few weeks. The ABC has spoken to four senior Australian officials who all suggest Huawei will be denied access.Huawei remains under suspicion Huawei is one of the world's largest providers of telecommunications equipment and the third largest provider of smartphones, after Samsung and Apple. Federal politicians who went on Huawei-sponsored trips Bronwyn Bishop (August 1-6, 2011): Business class flights to Singapore and China as well as domestic travel and accommodation costs paid for by Huawei Andrew Robb (December 13-19, 2011): Huawei paid for travel to Hong Kong and China, during which Mr Robb was provided with complimentary accommodation and hospitality Julie Bishop (January 4-9, 2012): Flights to China, domestic travel and accommodation provided by Huawei Steve Ciobo, Paul Fletcher, Alex Hawke, Alan Griffin, Harry Jenkins, Maria Vamvakinou (March 3-8, 2013): Huawei and University of Melbourne think tank Asialink paid for business class flights to China, domestic travel, and accommodation Jim Chalmers and Stephen Jones (July 5-12, 2015): Business class flights and accommodation provided by the Australia China Business Council and Huawei Steve Irons (August 24-28, 2015): Flights and accommodation provided by Huawei However, it continues to be the target of criticism over its connections to the Chinese Government, including allegations it is involved in state-sponsored espionage. In 2012, Huawei was banned from involvement in Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) on the advice of the Australian Secur #Guess, #which, #company, #sponsored, #most, #pollies, #overseas, #free, #trips #huawei, #sponsors, #government, #junket, #5g, #travel, #politicians, #declarations