Beijing: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Friday denied the allegations that Beijing instructs its companies like Huawei, one the world’s biggest tech firms, to spy on foreign countries and played down the impact of the current trade war with the US.
The Chinese government did not and will not tell its companies to spy on other countries, premier Li said during his annual press conference when asked about the spying allegations relating to Chinese giant Huawei which is facing stiff actions in the US and a number of other countries.
“Let me tell you explicitly that this is not consistent with Chinese law. This is not how China behaves. We did not do that and will not do that in the future,” he said.
This was the first such comment on Huawei from the top Chinese leadership.
Li’s remarks came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo early this month said Huawei was owned by the Chinese government, has deep connections to their intelligence services and presents a national security threat.
Pompeo urged the countries to think twice before signing up with one the world’s biggest tech firms.
“Huawei is owned by the state of China and has deep connections to their intelligence service. That should send off flares for everybody who understands what the Chinese military and Chinese intelligence services do. We have to take that threat seriously,” Pompeo said.
More and more Western nations are reviewing doing business with the firm over spying concerns. Huawei has always maintained it acts independently.
Western countries have begun reviewing their relationship with Huawei, specifically with regards to its technology being used in new ‘fifth generation 5G’ mobile internet networks.
Huawei, the largest global maker of network gear for phone and internet companies, has denied the allegations that it facilitates Chinese spying and has sued the US government.
PTI
