Technology giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday opened a legal front in its counteroffensive against US warnings that it could aid Chinese intelligence services, filing a lawsuit to overturn a US law that bars federal agencies from buying its products.
Huawei said the case was filed in a US District Court in Plano, Texas, challenging what it called an “unconstitutional” defense bill that prevents government agencies from buying its equipment, services or working with third parties that are Huawei customers.
The move might send a global signal that Huawei is willing to use all means, including national courts, to prevent exclusion from the race to the 5G market.
Photo: Reuters
“The US Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” Huawei chairman Guo Ping (郭平) said.
Guo added that the company was seeking unspecified damages.
“The US government is sparing no effort to smear the company,” he said at a news conference at Huawei’s corporate headquarters in Shenzhen, China.
Guo also said that the US government “has hacked our servers, and stolen our e-mails and source code,” without providing details.
Washington has long considered Huawei a potential threat due to the background of founder Ren Zhengfei (任正非), a former Chinese People’s Liberation Army engineer.
The concerns have escalated as Huawei has risen to become the world leader in telecommunications networking equipment and one of the top smartphone manufacturers alongside Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc.
A law enacted by Beijing that obliges Chinese companies to aid the government on national security has added to the concerns.
Huawei’s lawsuit targets an “unconstitutional exercise of executive and/or judicial power” that deprived it of a “fair hearing” to rebut allegations against it.
It also says the US’ National Defense Authorization Act contravenes a bill of attainder clause by “singling out Huawei for punishment.”
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said in Beijing that it was “entirely legitimate and understandable for enterprises to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests through legal means.”
Beijing had issued an official protest against the defense bill’s “negative content concerning China,” he said.
Washington has warned that Huawei systems could be manipulated by Beijing to spy on other nations and disrupt critical communications, and is urging nations to shun the firm in 5G networks.
Huawei is expected to play a key role in the coming rollout of 5G networks that would allow wide adoption of next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence.
The firm has responded to the pressure with an aggressive public relations campaign.
The clash is heightened by an ongoing US-China trade dispute and the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), Ren’s daughter, in Canada in December last year.
A Canadian court on Wednesday set a May 8 date for the start of Meng’s hearing into a US extradition request over charges that she and Huawei circumvented US sanctions against Iran.
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