Boris Johnson’s plans to seek alternatives to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in the 5G network could spoil plans for Chinese companies to build nuclear power plants and the HS2 high-speed rail network, the Sunday Times reported.

Liu Xiaoming signaled that Beijing is viewing the decision over Huawei as “a litmus test of whether Britain is a true and faithful partner of China,” the newspaper reported the ambassador telling business leaders, saying that the words were “interpreted as a threat by those listening.”