Beijing: US ‘oppressing Chinese companies’ after Huawei, ZTE action

Chinese officials on Wednesday lashed out at the Trump administration over actions the U.S. has taken against two Chinese companies accused of close relationships with China’s military.

The Associated Press reported that a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of “abusing state power” to slander Chinese the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE “without any evidence.”

“We once again urge the United States to stop abusing the concept of national security, deliberately discrediting China and unreasonably oppressing Chinese companies,” said the spokesperson, according to the AP.

Beijing’s latest statement comes as the Federal Communication Commission took action this week to block Chinese firms from receiving U.S. government subsidies, and follows the body formally designating ZTE and Huawei companies as national security threats on Tuesday.

“Both companies have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus, and both companies are broadly subject to Chinese law obligating them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “We cannot and will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit network vulnerabilities and compromise our critical communications infrastructure.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill expressed in statements following the decision that Huawei’s dominance of the tech market was a result of Chinese state backing and represented a threat to both U.S. security and economic interests.

“CCP has gained footholds in countries around the world with Huawei and ZTE under the premise that they are independent companies,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. “Now the world is learning that is not true. The United States will not put US dollars in the communists’ pockets and today’s decision shows that. This is good for our national security and for our shared fight against China becoming the world’s leading superpower.”