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October 8, 2012

Chinese technology firms present security threat to U.S., panel says

A new House report recommends that federal government computer systems not include components from the companies.

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - American companies should avoid doing business with China's two leading technology firms because they pose a national security threat to the United States, the House Intelligence Committee warns in a report to be issued Monday.

The panel says U.S. regulators should block mergers and acquisitions in this country by Huawei Technologies and ZTE, among the world's leading suppliers of telecommunications gear and mobile phones.

Reflecting U.S. concern over cyber-attacks traced to China, the report also recommends that U.S. government computer systems not include any components from the two firms because that could pose an espionage risk.

"China has the means, opportunity, and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes," the report says.

The recommendations are the result of a yearlong probe, including a congressional hearing last month in which senior Chinese executives of both companies testified, and denied posing a security threat.

A U.S. executive of one of the companies said the firm cooperated with investigators, and defended its business record. Huawei is a "globally trusted and respected company," said William Plummer, vice president for external affairs.

The bipartisan report is likely to become fodder for a presidential campaign in which the candidates have been competing in their readiness to clamp down on Chinese trade violations.

Republican Mitt Romney, in particular, has made it a key point to get tougher on China by designating it a currency manipulator and fighting abuses such as intellectual property theft.

The committee made the draft available to reporters in advance of public release Monday, under the condition that they not publish stories until the broadcast Sunday of a report on Huawei by CBS' "60 Minutes." In the CBS report, the committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., urges American companies not to do business with Huawei.

The panel's recommendations will likely hamper Huawei and ZTE's ambitions to expand their business in America. Their products are used in scores of countries, including in the West. Both deny being influenced by China's communist government.

"The investigation concludes that the risks associated with Huawei's and ZTE's provision of equipment to U.S. critical infrastructure could undermine core U.S. national-security interests," the report says.

The report says the committee received information from industry experts and current and former Huawei employees suggesting that Huawei, in particular, may be violating U.S. laws. It says that the committee will refer the allegations to the U.S. government for further review and possible investigation. The report mentions allegations of immigration violations, bribery and corruption, and of a "pattern and practice" of Huawei using pirated software in its U.S. facilities.

While Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. have seen their business in selling mobile devices grow in the U.S., espionage fears have limited the companies from moving into network infrastructure.

The report says the firms failed to offer responsive answers about their relationships and support by the Chinese government, and detailed information about their operations in the United States. It says Huawei, in particular, failed to provide thorough information, including on its corporate structure, history, financial arrangements and management.

In Washington, Huawei executive Plummer said Friday that the company cooperated in good faith with the investigation, which he said had not been objective and amounted to a "political distraction" from cyber-security problems facing the entire industry.

All major telecommunications companies, including those in the West, develop and manufacture equipment in China and overlapping supply chains require industrywide solutions, he said. Singling out China-based companies wouldn't help.

Plummer complained that the volume of information sought by the committee was unreasonable, and it had demanded some proprietary business information that "no responsible company" would provide.

 

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