China rejects US position on Huawei

Says its laws protect legitimate rights and interests of citizens and organisations

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Ministry has rejected the position of the United States on Huawei, saying China hopes all countries will abide by the principle of fair competition and jointly safeguard a fair and non-discriminatory market environment.

According to reports, US Vice President Mike Pence warned its allies to take "the threat" posed by Chinese enterprise Huawei seriously as they look for partners to build 5G wireless infrastructure. He made the remarks on Saturday during the Munich Security Conference.

Reports also said some US officials recently argued that under China's National Intelligence Law, companies such as Huawei or ZTE could be compelled to hand over data or access to Chinese intelligence.

"These are mistaken and one-sided interpretations of relevant Chinese laws," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a news briefing.



He said other Chinese laws also had many provisions to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and organisations, including data security and privacy. These rules also apply to the national intelligence work.

"The US side should understand this comprehensively and objectively, and not make incorrect and one-sided interpretations," Geng said.

He added that it was an internationally accepted practice to use legislation to maintain national security and require organisations and individuals to cooperate with the national intelligence work.

Members of the "Five Eyes" alliance including the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and western countries such as France and Germany all have similar requirements, he said.

This article originally appeared on the China Economic Net