Disputes between Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei and the U.S. government reached a new level as eight Republican lawmakers released a letter demanding that the government investigate Huawei’s bid to supply wireless equipment for Sprint Nextel’s LTE network.
Citing concerns over Huawei’s purported ties to the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and to the Islamist government of Iran, as well as its links to the Chinese military, the senators, led by Arizona's Jon Kyl, the Republic whip, wrote, “We are concerned that Huawei’s position as a supplier of Sprint Nextel could create substantial risk for U.S. companies and possibly undermine U.S. national security."
The letter was addressed to Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence.
The lawmakers’ charges follow a lawsuit filed last month by Motorola, a longtime Huawei customer, accusing the Chinese gearmaker of corporate espionage.
One of China’s largest corporations, Huawei has been successful in recent years in competing with established vendors such as Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent, and has gained a reputation for reliable, low-cost equipment. The Shenzhen-based company has publicly expressed its intention to penetrate the North American market; its 2008 bid to acquire 3Com was blocked over national security concerns.
Huawei has also come under fire before from Western competitors: Cisco several years ago sued Huawei for stealing its router technology. That case was settled out of court.
Saying it was “disappointed to learn that old mischaracterizations about the company still linger," Huawei responded in a statement, “We are deeply committed to long-term investment in North America and will continue to contribute to this market by providing innovative communications network solutions and services to address our customers’ challenges and needs."
The Chinese government also responded sharply to the senators’ concerns. “Chinese corporations and enterprises like Huawei want to do business and make investment in the U.S. by following rules of market and on the basis of win-win for both," said Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the U.S., in a statement. “We hope that some people in the U.S. will take a rational approach toward these normal commercial activities rather than do anything to stand in the way by abusing ‘national security concerns.’"
