New Zealand's intelligence agency has rejected the telecom industry's first request in the country to use 5G equipment provided by China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, citing concerns about national security.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been sent a letter from American politicians urging him to ban Chinese company Huawei equipment from the Canadian wireless network.

The Pentagon banned the sale of  Huawei and ZTE phones on military bases on Wednesday and while the devices are not sold on Canadian bases, federal officials are saying little about whether they share American fears the devices could be used to spy on soldiers.