People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. (File photo: Xinhua)

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei announced Thursday that it had received UK permission to build a research and development centre in Cambridge, eastern England.

It will invest £1.0 billion ($1.2 billion, 1.1 billion euros) under a first phase to build the global headquarters for its business dealing with optoelectronics -- "a key technology used in fibre optic communication systems", it said.

"The UK is home to a vibrant and open market, as well as some of the best talent the world has to offer," Victor Zhang, vice president of Huawei, said in a statement announcing the project in Cambridge, which is world-renowned for its university. 

"It's the perfect location for this integrated innovation campus." 

Zhang added: "Ultimately, we want to help enshrine the UK's leading position in optoelectronics and promote UK tech on a global scale."

Huawei said the first phase would create around 400 local jobs. 

"This investment will be a major boost for high-tech development in the region, helping to further cement Cambridge as a global innovation hub."