The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday identified five Chinese technical companies as an “undue threat” to national security. The companies include Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, along with ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology.
“This list is a major step toward renewing trust in our communications networks,” FCC Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
“This list provides meaningful guidance that will ensure that, as next generation networks are built across the country, they do not repeat mistakes of the past or use equipment or services. which will be a threat to U.S. national security or the security and safety of Americans, “she said.
Will Biden follow Trump’s harsh line on Chinese technology?
The move by the FCC comes one day after Biden administration imposed new 5G license restrictions on some suppliers to Huawei. The U.S. government believes Beijing could use Huawei’s 5G device to spy on U.S. residents, with former President Donald Trump’s administration blacklisting Huawei doing business with US companies in May 2019.
Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has called for a U.S. reshuffle under the Biden administration, but the new president appears to want to continue the hard line of the Trump era against the company. China criticized Biden’s new restrictions on Huawei on Friday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying it would “seriously disrupt the technology exchanges and trade exchanges of both countries and the world in general. “
The Trump administration had previously cracked down on other Chinese tech companies, trying to block the two Chinese video apps TikTok in the United States along with WeChat’s messaging service about national security concerns. The Biden administration has suspended the bans in Trump’s time, which had been tied up in court.
Biden may work more closely with allies in the fight against Huawei
Biden could do more than Trump in working with allies against Huawei’s ambitious 5G expansion, taking a more friendly approach to international partners in Europe and elsewhere . Although his predecessor was able to gain some support from countries such as Poland in the fight against Huawei, Trump is reported to have blown away in a phone call last year with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, from after the UK said it would use some Huawei equipment in its 5G networks.
In an article for Foreign Affairs In a March 2019 issue, Biden said that “the United States needs to sharpen its innovative edge and unify the economic potential of democracies around the world” in order to counter China’s growing influence in global affairs. USA works with international partners to address not only Chinese technology, but also other issues such as Beijing’s human rights abuses against the Uighur minority and the aggressive stance towards inland waters there in the South China Sea.
The European Union is also looking to work closely with Biden, proposing a “Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council” to coordinate U.S.-EU strategies against China’s technical growth leadership.
wd / sms (Reuters, dpa)