- Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei responded on Wednesday to news of President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration.
- Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday declaring a national emergency over "threats against information and communications technology and services" in the US.
- Soon after, the US Commerce Department said it would add Huawei to its "entity list," preventing the company from buying parts and components from American companies without US government approval.
- Huawei slammed the US for its "unreasonable restrictions," which it says infringes on Huawei’s rights and could lead to serious legal battles down the road.
- It added that it was willing to "engage with the US government" to come up with solutions to security concerns, but said a ban on its business in the US would only serve to hurt US interests.
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei on Wednesday responded to news of President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration and subsequent placement of Huawei on the US Commerce Department’s "entity list," which bans the company from buying parts from US vendors without US government approval.
The US has long voiced concerns that Huawei technology — along with technology from fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE — could pose a security risk, fearing that the company’s technology could act as a backdoor for spying for the Chinese government.
Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment producer, said in a statement that it was willing to "engage with the US government" to come up with solutions to security concerns, but it said a ban on its business in the US would only serve to hurt US interests.
"Restricting Huawei from doing business in the US will not make the US more secure or stronger," a Huawei spokesperson told Business Insider. "Instead, this will only serve to limit the US to inferior yet more expensive alternatives, leaving the US lagging behind in 5G deployment, and eventually harming the interests of US companies and consumers."
The company also slammed the US for its "unreasonable restrictions," which it says infringes on Huawei’s rights and could lead to serious legal battles down the road.
Read more: Huawei just upped the ante in its fight with the US in new lawsuit against the government
Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday declaring a national emergency over "threats against information and communications technology and services" in the US.
"The President has made it clear that this Administration will do what it takes to keep America safe and prosperous, and to protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services in the United States," it reads.
While the declaration did not explicitly mention Huawei by name, it set the stage for the US Commerce Department to ban US companies from selling parts to the tech giant without government approval. US officials told Reuters that the move will make it nearly impossible for Huawei to sell some of its products because it relies heavily on US suppliers.
China’s foreign ministry called the US move an "abuse of its national power."
"For some time, the United States has abused its national power to deliberately discredit and suppress by any means specific Chinese enterprises, which is neither honorable nor fair," foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a press conference on Thursday.
"We urge the US side to stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises on the pretext of national security and to provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment."
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See Also:
- President Trump’s national emergency likely won’t stop you from buying a Huawei phone, much less an iPhone. Here’s what it means for you.
- Trump’s Huawei ban could spark a tit-for-tat fight with Beijing that puts Apple in the middle of the crossfire
- Here’s who’s getting rich on Uber’s massive IPO
SEE ALSO: MIT cuts collaborations with Huawei and ZTE over security concerns
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rosie Perper)