China opposes 'deliberate suppression' of companies after US limits Huawei's market access

China accused the United States of bullying non-American companies after the Commerce Department took further measures to restrict Huawei from acquiring US technology. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a regular news conference on August 18 that Beijing “firmly opposes the deliberate smearing and suppression” of Chinese enterprises, including Huawei, by the United States.

“For some time now, the US has been abusing national security concept and state power to impose all sorts of restrictive measures on Chinese companies like Huawei without producing any solid evidence. This is stark bullying,” said Zhao.

State Secretary Mike Pompeo announced that the Commerce Department has added 38 Huawei affiliates to its Entity List which identifies foreign parties prohibited from receiving certain sensitive technologies. The latest measures are aimed at barring Huawei from alternative chip production and provision of off-the-shelf (OTS) chips produced with tools acquired from the United States.

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Pompeo said that the Trump administration sees Huawei as an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s surveillance state and the action has been taken to protect national security, citizens’ privacy, and the integrity of 5G infrastructure from Beijing’s “malign influence”. He added that the State Department has engaged in vigorous diplomacy for more than a year to share the knowledge on Huawei with allies and partners around the world.

“We will not tolerate efforts by the CCP to undermine the privacy of our citizens, our businesses’ intellectual property, or the integrity of next-generation networks worldwide,” the top diplomat said in a statement.

China rubbishes claims

Calling the US’ claims “totally baseless”, Zhao said that Huawei has developed over 1,500 networks in more than 170 countries and regions over the past 30 years. He added that it has served 228 Fortune 500 companies and more than three billion people all over the world with not a single cybersecurity incident like those revealed by Edward Snowden or WikiLeaks.

“We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes and stop smearing China and suppressing Chinese companies,” the spokesperson said.

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