By Juro Osawa 
 

Huawei Technologies Co. said Monday that it has appointed John Browne, former chief executive of BP PLC, as the chairman of its U.K. board, a move that highlights the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker's deeper involvement in U.K. business circles.

Shenzhen-based Huawei said it has also appointed two other independent directors for its U.K. board: UBM PLC Chairman Helen Alexander and Andrew Cahn, former chief executive of the U.K. Trade and Investment government department, who headed Huawei U.K.'s advisory board from 2011 to 2014.

Over the past few years, Huawei has been trying to strengthen its ties to the U.K., where it already sells equipment to major clients like Vodafone Group PLC. In 2012, Huawei said it would spend $2 billion over the next five years on research and development and component procurement in the U.K. The company has built a new R&D center there, hiring local engineers.

While Huawei is expanding in the U.K., the company continues to face challenges in the U.S., where a 2012 congressional report recommended U.S. telecom carriers to avoid using the Chinese company's networking gear due to alleged national security risks. Huawei has denied the allegations.

Write to Juro Osawa at juro.osawa@wsj.com

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