HSBC Holdings Plc  Chairman Mark Tucker has warned Britain against a ban on networking equipment made by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, claiming the bank could face reprisals in China.

Tucker made the claim in private representations to British Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s advisers.

Britain designated Huawei a “high-risk vendor” in January, capping its 5G involvement at 35% and excluding it from the data-heavy core of the network.

It is looking at the possibility of phasing Huawei out of its 5G network completely by 2023, according to officials.