Senate Bill Would Bar Chinas Huawei From US Finance System
(Bloomberg) -- US lawmakers urge Huawei Technologies Co. Other foreign companies have passed laws that could exclude them from the world's largest financial system in a latest attempt to curb China's technological ambitions.
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The Senate bill, co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., would prevent U.S. companies from engaging in meaningful deals with foreign companies that make 5G technology and engage in industrial espionage. If Huawei were named like that, it would cut off access to US banks.
"We cannot allow Huawei and the Chinese Communist Party to access Americans' personal data and our nation's most sensitive defense systems," said Sen. Tom Cotton, D-Arkansas, who sponsored the bill. "We are facing a major threat that these Chinese companies pose to our national security."
The legislation comes amid widespread support from Washington to find ways to curb the influence of China, and Huawei in particular. Last month, the FCC asked Huawei and other telcos, including ZTE Corp., including a ban on the sale of electronic devices in the US due to data security threats.
Asked about the bill at a regular press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Beijing opposed Washington's misrepresentation of national security. "The United States is undermining international norms," he said. "China will take measures to protect the legitimate and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises."
US lawmakers want to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok, which the FBI says can control the software of millions of users, steal information, launch hacker attacks or conduct influence operations.
China condemned the United States' actions to reduce the capacity of its technology sector, including harsh sanctions that limit access to advanced chip manufacturing equipment.
(Updates with Chinese Foreign Ministry comments on the fifth paragraph).
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