International Circuit

We Do Not Do Bad Things: Huawei Says There Is No Evidence Supporting US Spying Claims

February 27, 2019

Huawei does not do “bad things,” according to the rotating chairman of the world’s largest provider of telecommunications equipment.

Guo Ping’s comments come at a time when his company is under intense scrutiny, with the U.S. pressuring its Western allies not to use Huawei’s technology to build 5G networks.

Superfast 5G mobile internet is expected to revolutionize the digital economy by enabling new technologies such as self-driving cars and the internet of things.

“To build a system that we all can trust, we need aligned responsibility, unified standards and clear regulations,” Huawei’s Guo Ping said on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday.

“We can proudly say that 5G is safer than 4G. As a vendor, we don’t operate carriers’ networks and we don’t own carrier data,” he added.

U.S and Chinese officials are currently working to secure a comprehensive trade agreement ahead of a March 1 deadline. The protracted trade dispute has battered financial markets and slowed down the world economy.

At the center of the conflict is Huawei, following accusations from Washington of sanctions busting, intellectual property theft and facilitating Chinese state espionage operations.

Huawei denies such accusations.

“Our responsibility (and) what we promise is we don’t do anything bad — we don’t do bad things,” Guo said.

Trustworthy standards

Huawei has captured key markets by offering high-tech gear at a lower cost than its rivals.

But, the tech giant has now effectively been left out of the U.S. market with officials citing concerns that its technology could enable spying from the Chinese government.

In addition to the U.S., Canada, Britain and Germany are weighing possible bans on Huawei’s 5G equipment citing security risks.

New Zealand and Australia have already banned the provider from supplying 5G infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Guo reiterated his company’s position that it has never and would never allow any country to spy through its equipment.

He called for equipment makers, network operators and governments to work together to devise unified standards to manage cyber security risks.

“Here, let me say this as clear as possible, Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors. And we will never allow anyone to do so in our equipment. We take this responsibility very seriously,” Guo said.

“The U.S. security accusation on our 5G has no evidence — nothing. The irony is that the U.S. cloud act… allowed their entities to access data across borders.”

“So, for best technology and greater security, choose Huawei. Please choose Huawei, thank you,” he concluded.―CNBC