Key Legislators Seek Details on Proposed Imports from Huawei, ZTE
The chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee said they remained concerned with the national security threat posed by two Chinese telecommunications companies, Huawei and ZTE, that want to sell telecom products in the U.S. Committee Chair Mike…
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Rogers, R-Mich., and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., asked the two companies to answer more than a dozen detailed questions about the companies' corporate and financial connections with the Chinese government, in separate letters June 13 (here). The committee has been investigating the extent to which the companies give the Chinese government an opportunity for increased foreign espionage, threaten critical infrastructure, and further the opportunity for Chinese economic espionage. Rogers and Ruppersberger asked Huawei and ZTE executives specific questions about their companies' interactions with Chinese government officials; the funding they receive from Chinese agencies; the information they share with the Chinese government; their cybersecurity practices; and their business relationships with Iran, among other queries. Huawei Vice President-External Affairs Bill Plummer said the company welcomes the opportunity to "further enhance" the committee's understanding of the facts, "after which we look forward to re-focused attention to addressing the true threats to critical infrastructure from the global information and communications technology supply chain. Huawei shares concerns related to network security. We support universal and industry-wide solutions to effectively address cyber threats and vulnerabilities." ZTE did not comment.