Senior German officials are planning a last-ditch drive to convince the government to consider excluding Chinese firms such as Huawei from building Germany's 5G infrastructure, concerned that it could compromise national security.

The behind-the-scenes push in Berlin, which comes after decisions by Australia and the United States to ban Chinese suppliers from 5G, has emerged at a late stage, with Germany expected to start its 5G auctions in early 2019.

Because of this momentum, officials said it was unclear whether the initiative would succeed.