Huawei argued in a filing with the 5th US Circuit Court of
Appeals that the FCC designation, which barred companies from using government
money to procure its products, violated the US constitution.
The Shenzhen-based company described the agency’s ruling as
“arbitrary, capricious . . . and not supported by substantial evidence”
The FCC decision was one of several actions taken by the
administration of Donald Trump against the Chinese telecoms group over concerns
that it could help Beijing conduct espionage.
Huawei denies that it has any connections to the Chinese
government or the security and military apparatus. But US national security
experts dispute its claims and argue that the company is susceptible to
pressure from Beijing.
Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s founder, called on the Biden
administration to have a “more open” policy towards Chinese companies at a
media briefing on Tuesday. “We hope the US government will have a more open
policy for the benefit of American companies and the development of the US
economy,” Ren said.
Responding to the Huawei lawsuit, the FCC said it had a
“substantial body of evidence” about the threat from Huawei and would defend
its designation.
Under the Trump administration, the US commerce department
placed Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese telecoms equipment maker, on the “entity
list” — a blacklist that requires US companies to obtain licenses to sell any
kind of technology to the Chinese companies and their affiliates.
It also implemented measures to make it harder for Huawei to
buy products, such as semiconductors, that were manufactured with American
technology.
The move against Huawei was part of a broad push to take a
tougher stance towards China over national security. Mike Pompeo, then
secretary of state, led a campaign to persuade US allies, including the UK, to
prevent the company from having any role in their high-speed 5G networks.
The administration of Joe Biden has signalled that it will
also take a hawkish approach to China over everything from its behaviour in the
South China Sea to its repression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang province.
In a sign that US-China tensions will not ease under the
Biden administration, Antony Blinken, secretary of state, last week used his
first conversation with his Chinese counterpart to warn Beijing that Washington
would hold it to account for its “abuses” and repressive behaviour.
The new administration has been less clear on Huawei,
however. Gina Raimondo, the nominee for commerce secretary, drew criticism from
Republicans when she refused to commit to keeping the company on the entity
list during her confirmation hearing.
Raimondo later clarified her position to say that she saw
“no reason” to remove any of the companies on the US entity list. But her
original response spurred Republican Senator Ted Cruz to put a hold on her
nomination.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, later said the
administration would not allow “untrusted vendors, including Huawei” to be
involved with US telecoms networks because they posed a threat to security.
The commerce department has also come under scrutiny over
concerns that Biden could choose someone who is not sufficiently tough on China
to run the Bureau of Industry and Security, a role overseeing export controls
that has become increasingly critical as the US tries to stop China from
obtaining sensitive technology.
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