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China slams US ‘abuse’ over new Huawei sanctions
BEIJING, Aug 18, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Beijing on Tuesday hit out at new US
sanctions against telecom giant Huawei, accusing Washington of an “abuse of
national power” to block the rise of Chinese companies.
A US Commerce Department statement Monday barred an additional 38 Huawei
affiliates from buying American computer chips and other technology.
Tensions were already high between the two powers, and Washington has
claimed that Chinese firms are used to spy for Beijing — an accusation the
Chinese government and the companies deny.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Tuesday said there was
no evidence that Huawei products contained security loopholes or backdoors.
The sanctions have “completely punctured the last pretence of market
principles and fair competition that the US has always touted”, he added.
Washington has engaged in “abuse of national power to apply all sorts of
restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese enterprises,” he said at a regular
press briefing.
US officials have argued that Huawei poses a security risk because of its
links to the Beijing government, a claim denied by the company.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Huawei and its affiliates “have
worked through third parties to harness US technology in a manner that
undermines US national security and foreign policy interests”.
The Trump administration has banned Huawei from 5G wireless networks in
the United States and pressed allies to do the same.
Huawei became the largest global smartphone manufacturer in the past
quarter, largely due to sales in the Chinese market, even as Washington moves
to deny the company access to much of the Google Android system.
Zhao on Tuesday urged the US to “correct its mistakes,” saying China
would “continue to take necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights
and interests of Chinese companies”.
US President Donald Trump has also sought to ban the wildly popular
mobile application TikTok if it is not divested by its Chinese parent firm
ByteDance, and ordered a ban on the Chinese messaging app WeChat, owned by
tech giant Tencent.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 16o4 hrs