Huawei versus US Congress
October 8, 2012
Chinese IT and communications giant Huawei Technologies on Monday hit out at United States Congress after its Intelligence Committee claimed that the firm posed a security threat to America.
Huawei said that a congressional report on the subject, due to be released later on Monday, was the result of “political agendas.”
The Chinese foreign ministry accused US officials of "bias," and added that Chinese telecommunications firms "operate internationally in accordance with market economic principles."
"The investment of Chinese telecom companies in the United States has reflected the mutual benefit and win-win nature of Sino-US economic and trade relations," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. "We hope the US Congress can respect the truth and overcome bias so as to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation."
"The security and integrity of our products are world proven," William Plummer, a US-based spokesman for Huawei, also said.
Ties to Chinese government?
The report's release comes after a congressional hearing on "the security threat posed by Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE." Mike Rogers, the chairman of Congress' intelligence committee, said at the hearing last month that the two businesses were “companies with believed ties to the Chinese government."
The draft report advises that top Chinese telecoms firms should be barred from the US market as a result.
The US is not the first country to voice concerns about Huawei. Australia in March banned Huawei from bidding for national broadband contracts, citing concerns about security.
sej/msh (Reuters, dpa)