The US Federal Communications Commission ejected Pacific Networks Corp (太平洋網路) and ComNet (USA) LLC from the US market, continuing a series of bans of Chinese telecoms over security concerns.
Wednesday’s 4-0 vote follows the agency’s January decision to bar China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd (中國聯通) from the market. The agency last year barred China Telecom (Americas) Corp, and earlier it refused to let China Mobile Ltd (中國移動) enter the US market.
The move shows that potential espionage and data theft by Chinese state-owned companies remains a concern under US President Joe Biden after being elevated as an issue by the previous US administration.
Pacific Networks and ComNet primarily sell retail calling cards in the US, the companies said in a January filing, adding that shareholders include investors from the US, the UK and the EU.
“The participation of significant levels of public, international ownership show the companies are very different from a 100 percent state-owned company not subject to external transparency and accountability requirements,” the companies said in the filing.
Pacific Networks is 100 percent owned by Citic Telecom International Holdings Ltd (中信國際電訊), a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the filing showed.
Pacific Networks and ComNet earlier told the FCC that their operations are not subject to Chinese government control, and they had complied with FCC requirements. Their parent company is state-owned Citic Group Corp (中國中信集團).
The FCC’s actions against Chinese carriers have drawn attention in Beijing, with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) in January saying that the US was using security as a pretext to revoke the license of a Chinese company, adding that it was “an abuse of state power to suppress Chinese companies.”
China said it firmly opposes the US move, as it hurts the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and US consumers, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng (高峰) said at a regular briefing in Beijing yesterday.
“The US should immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, and the wrong practice of politicizing economic and trade issues,” Gao said, vowing to introduce measures to safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
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