Huawei is set to build its first European manufacturing plant, the company announced on Thursday. The facility will reportedly be built in France as part of the company's efforts to ease security concerns previously raised by the United States through its ongoing campaign to bar the use of the Chinese firm's equipment from being used in 5G rollouts.

The company's chairman, Liang Hua, announced that it is preparing to invest around $217 million as part of the first phase to establish the new facility in France. The factory will primarily be used to manufacture mobile base stations, components that are not considered to be core to 5G network infrastructures.

The firm, which is currently the world's biggest producer of telecommunications equipment and the leading provider of 5G network technologies, added that its new plant should generate more than 500 new jobs.

It is not yet clear if the company had already received approval from the French government to start building its proposed manufacturing plant. If it does get built, the factory in France will be the company's second overseas manufacturing facility. The company currently has a plant in India, which mainly produces its smartphone products.

Building its components directly in Europe is expected to ease concerns over the alleged security risks posed by its equipment. Since the launch of the US' campaign to bar the use of the company's equipment and services, Europe has become a major battleground to settle the dispute.

The US still holds on to its accusations that Huawei and its equipment is being used by the Chinese government to spy on other countries, among other illicit activities. Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations and stated that its products do not pose any such security risks.

During a news conference, Liang mentioned that the new facility will be used to supply the entire European market and its 5G network needs. Countries in the European Union have all started to slowly transition to the next generation of mobile technology, but the question of whether they would allow Huawei to supply them with components is still left unanswered.

The UK was one of the first ones to publicly defy the United States' call to ban Huawei and its products, announcing that it would allow "high-risk vendors" to participate in its 5G rollout but only for non-sensitive components. Germany has yet to reach a consensus on the matter, with officials still debating whether or not to ban the company from becoming a supplier.

France had stated that it does not intend to discriminate against any vendor but it will require all suppliers to be thoroughly screened. Despite not yet officially rolling out its 5G network, one of the country's top telecom companies, Orange, has already announced a partnership with Huawei's rivals Nokia and Ericsson.