Huawei continues sport sponsorship deal in Australia

Huawei renewed its sponsorship deal with an Australian rugby league team for another two years and said Thursday it hopes the country will lift its ban on the Chinese communication giant's involvement in the nation's 5G networks.

Huawei has been the major sponsor of the Canberra Raiders, the capital city's only team in the National Rugby League competition, since 2012. The Raiders were Huawei's first sponsorship contract with a sports team anywhere in the world.

But whether that sponsorship would be continued beyond the current three-year contract came under question when the Australian government banned the world's biggest telecom gear producer in August from participating in the next generation 5G rollout on security grounds.

Huawei Australian chairman John Lord said the renewed sponsorship ideal was a sign of his company's "deep commitment to long-term engagement in the Australian market."

"I, John Lord, and the board of Huawei hope that further down the track there may be room in .