China’s commerce ministry criticized the U.S. government’s decision to ban new sales of telecommunications equipment made by five Chinese firms due to national security risks. It demanded they be allowed to sell their products to Ame,rican consumers.
Recall, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned five Chinese telecom firms from selling new products in the U.S. under the provisions of the Secure Equipment Act of 2021.
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The FCC’s order banned all imports of telecommunications and video surveillance equipment produced by Huawei and ZTE or their affiliates. It also put a hold on sales of surveillance equipment made by Dahua and Hikvision along with two-way radios made by Hytera. The hold will remain in effect until those companies verify to the FCC that their products won’t be marketed and sold for public safety or national security purposes, securing government facilities, or for surveillance of critical infrastructure.
Recently quoted at a press conference, Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting urged the U.S. to “correct its wrong practices” and to “stop politicizing and weaponizing” economic and trade issues by treating Chinese companies fairly.
The spokesperson said the restrictions hurt U.S. businesses and consumers in addition to undermining international trade and warned, “China will adopt necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights of domestic firms.”
Huawei and ZTE have long denied allegations that their technologies could be used to spy on American consumers or pose a threat to U.S. national security, while Hikvision issued a similar denial following the FCC decision.
