HUAWEI Technologies Co. executives have asked for a meeting with the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and come up with a deal to delay its potential removal from fifth generation (5G) mobile networks until after elections in 2025, The Sunday Times reported.

The company wants to do this in the expectation that a new government that comes into power may reverse the decision, the paper reported. Huawei’s proposals came after The Telegraph newspaper reported Friday that the British Government is expected to set a deadline of 2025 for removing equipment made by Huawei from the country’s 5G telecoms networks.

The reports said that British Culture Minister Oliver Dowden will make a statement in parliament Tuesday about Huawei, and that ministers wanted Huawei’s removal within five years.

Britain in January capped Huawei’s role in its 5G networks at 35 percent and barred it from the most sensitive parts of the system.

The government said recently that U.S. sanctions could damage Huawei’s ability to supply crucial networking equipment.

China’s ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming, warned last week that getting rid of Huawei would send a “very bad message” to Chinese business.

Operators Vodafone and BT said Thursday that they needed a minimum of five years and ideally seven to avoid major disruption to Britain’s emerging superfast networks. BT and Vodafone warned that ripping out Huawei by 2023 could lead to signal blackouts. They also said the cost to the two companies would reach several billion pounds and could be passed on to consumers. (SD-Agencies)