New Bill Would End Intelligence Sharing With U.S. Allies That Utilize Huawei’s 5G Network

Jan 09 2020 |
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Some European countries haven’t ruled out the state-supported company despite American ban.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has introduced a bill that proposes terminating intelligence sharing with allies that utilize Chinese telecommunications company Huawei’s equipment.

Cotton’s bill would apply pressure on United States allies, particularly those in Europe, to follow efforts in the U.S. to block Huawei from infiltrating 5G networks to potentially spy on behalf of the Chinese state.

U.S. security and foreign policy officials have long voiced grave concerns that Huawei’s 5G network would compromise confidential information, arguing that Huawei is ultimately obligated to serve the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Last year, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo penned an opinion for POLITICO, stating, “With 5G capabilities, the CCP could use Huawei or ZTE's access to steal private or proprietary information, or use ‘kill switches’ to disrupt critical future applications like electrical grids and telesurgery centers. And one only needs to look at the CCP’s extensive human rights abuses in Xinjiang — so clearly laid out in recently leaked documents — to see how it is using technology for mass repression.”

Though Huawei contends that it is a private company and has not received any special treatment from the Chinese government, it is estimated that Beijing substantially subsidizes the company, having provided $75 billion in state support.

Despite public relations campaigns, suspiciously modeled after typical CCP techniques, that recast Huawei as simply another tech company, research has revealed employee links between Huawei and China’s military and intelligence services. Furthermore, as the Wall Street Journal exposed this summer, Huawei technicians have already enabled governments in Africa to access information, including encrypted communications, to spy on political opponents.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has also been a vocal advocate for limiting Huawei’s influence in addition to calling for sanctions against Beijing for its plethora of human rights violations.

Despite these concerns, Germany and the United Kingdom have balked at banning Huawei outright as they contemplate contracts for their 5G networks, and Huawei is doing its best to refute ties to the CCP.

Nonetheless, Huawei appears to be feeling the sting of American efforts. The company has stated that sales growth in 2019 failed to meet projections, and it anticipates continued strife in 2020.

More largely, the world appears to be waking to the national security threat posed by Chinese tech companies as marked by a progressive decline in Chinese participation at the world’s biggest consumer-electronics exhibition, CES in Las Vegas.