Huawei and ZTE 'cannot be trusted' in the US, says Congress report

A Congress committee will today publish the results of an 11-month investigation into ZTE and Huawei and the alleged risks these companies pose to US national security. Somehow, Reuters has already gotten hold of a draft of the report and, judging from the conclusions that have now been made public, it's anything but diplomatic. The document accuses both Chinese manufacturers of refusing to cooperate with the US's investigation, of failing to properly explain their ties with the Chinese government, and – at least in the case of Huawei -- of being the subject of "credible allegations" of "bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement." Many details seem to have been reserved for a longer, classified version of the report, but the Intelligence Committee's chairman, Mike Rogers, has already appeared on 60 Minutes to tell Americans to "find another vendor" rather than do business with either company – a stance that could potentially affect their handset sales as well as their telecoms infrastructure operations.

In response, ZTE has complained that it "should not have been the focus of this investigation to the exclusion of the much larger Western vendors" and says it "profoundly disagrees" with the findings. A Huawei spokesman has described the Congress report as a "baseless" attack that will "recklessly threaten American jobs and innovation." Indeed, it published the same arguments in greater depth three weeks ago, when it was clearly anticipating (and no doubt dreading) today's headlines.

Monday, November 26, 2012