US senators warn on Huawei deal with South Korea
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Richard McGregor in Washington December 4, 2013
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A deal signed in South Korea by Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications giant, could undermine Washington’s defence ties with Seoul, according to two powerful US senators.
Dianne Feinstein and Robert Menendez, respectively the chairs of the Senate’s intelligence and foreign affairs committees, said in a letter that “maintaining the integrity of telecommunications infrastructure” was critical to the alliance.
Congress has long objected to Huawei expanding its business in the US but the letter is a rare example of political leaders in the country making an issue of the Chinese company’s investments offshore.
US suspicions about Huawei could also rebound on American technology companies abroad in the wake of documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor, outlining their co-operation with Washington’s spy agencies.
The letter, sent in late November, was addressed to John Kerry, the secretary of state, Chuck Hagel, the defence secretary, and James Clapper, the director of national intelligence.
Scott Sykes, head of international media affairs for Huawei, complained on Wednesday of “trade protectionism, Sinophobia and discrimination based on where our headquarters are”.
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“Huawei is not China; Huawei is Huawei,” he said, pointing out that leading US companies such as Apple carried out much of their production in China. “If China is a concern, why do the same standards not apply to those companies?” he asked.
Mr Sykes said the company had operated in South Korea since 2002 and provided telecoms infrastructure to all three mobile phone operators.
In response to a parliamentary inquiry in November, South Korea’s science and technology ministry promised to respond to worries about Huawei’s involvement in South Korea’s telecoms infrastructure, while noting the government’s limited ability to intervene under current law.
“We can’t do anything about Huawei’s involvement in the private sector, but we are concerned about security issues, like the US . . . We will come up with necessary measures after actively reviewing this,” he said.