14 DAY TRIAL // After the US House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee issued a report in which US businesses were warned not to use the products and services of Chines companies - Huawei and ZTE in particular – because they posed great security risks, the “defendants” came forward to deny the allegations.
China’s Ministry of Commerce named the accusations as being groundless and “based on subjective suspicions,” informs ITProPortal.
David Dai Shu, ZTE's director of global public affairs, says he and his company can appreciate the fact that the US wants to ensure that the communications equipment utilized by carriers and government agencies do not pose a security risk.
However, he highlights the fact that the company has closely collaborated with the committee during the investigation.
“It is noteworthy that, after a year-long investigation, the Committee rests its conclusions on a finding that ZTE may not be ‘free of state influence.' This finding would apply to any company operating in China,” Dai Shu said.
“The Committee has not challenged ZTE's fitness to serve the US market based on any pattern of unethical or illegal behavior.”
The director claims that based on the assumptions that have led the Committee to name Chinese companies as being risky, all those who sell telecoms equipment to the US should be verified because most of the products they sell contain components made in China.
“Particularly given the severity of the Committee's recommendations, ZTE recommends that the Committee's investigation be extended to include every company making equipment in China, including the Western vendors. That is the only way to truly protect US equipment and US national security,” he explained.
Huawei representatives appeared to be even more disappointed by the study’s results. They accused the Committee of being “committed to a predetermined outcome.”
As it turns out, the results of the controversial report may have caused some waves in Canada as well. The BBC reports that the country might also prevent Huawei devices from being deployed in critical networks.