By Rachel Pannett and Dan Strumpf

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. has been barred from putting its equipment into New Zealand's 5G telecommunications network, a fresh setback for the company as strategic rivalries with China intensify in the region.

Local telecommunications company Spark New Zealand had planned to use Huawei equipment in a 5G mobile network due to be completed by July 2020. But the company said Wednesday it had been informed by security officials that plan would "raise significant national security risks." Huawei didn't immediately comment.

The decision by New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau comes after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the U.S. government has been trying to persuade wireless and internet providers in allied nations to avoid telecommunications equipment from Huawei.

American officials briefed government counterparts and telecom executives in friendly countries where Huawei equipment is already in wide use, including Germany, Italy and Japan, about what they see as cybersecurity risks, according to people familiar with the situation.

In August, Australia's government barred Huawei and ZTE Corp. from participating in the country's next-generation 5G mobile network.

Huawei has effectively been locked out of major U.S. telecommunications networks for years due to fears that its equipment could be used to spy on Americans, an assertion Huawei has long denied.

It is set to complete construction of an internet network in Papua New Guinea, however, despite opposition from Australia, Japan and the U.S., after the South Pacific country dismissed concerns about cyberspying.

Write to Rachel Pannett at rachel.pannett@wsj.com and Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2018 00:52 ET (05:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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