US threatens to block China Telecom from American market
The United States of America threatened on Thursday, April 9, to cut off Beijing-controlled China Telecom from serving the US market because of legal and security risks, the Justice Department announced.
A recommendation by the government’s top departments, including Defense, State and Homeland Security, said that the Federal
Communications Commission should “revoke and terminate” all authorizations for the Chinese giant’s US subsidiary, China Telecom (Americas), to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.
"The Executive Branch agencies identified substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations, which render the FCC authorizations inconsistent with the public interest," the Justice Department said in a statement.
If approved, the move could mean that China Telecom’s hundreds of millions of phone and internet customers — it is China’s second largest mobile phone operator — could lose connectivity with or
through the United States.
The agencies making the recommendation — which also included the Justice Department, the Commerce Department, and the US Trade Representative — said China Telecom is vulnerable to "exploitation, influence and control" by the Chinese government.
The agencies also made the recommendation based on "the nature
of China Telecom’s US operations," which they said allow Chinese government actors "to engage in malicious cyber activity enabling economic espionage and disruption and misrouting of
US communications."
The recommendation has to be decided upon by the FCC, but will
almost certainly involve the White House, where it could be weighed
amid ongoing trade negotiations with Beijing.
It came just five days after President Donald Trump’s administration
formed an interdepartmental body to formally review national security
concerns related to foreign telecommunications companies involved
in the United States.
In September 2019 two senators, Democrat Chuck Schumer and
Republican Tom Cotton, asked the FCC to consider banning China
Telecom and another company, China Unicom, from the US market
over national security concerns.
The statement on Thursday, April 9, did not explain specifically what
China Telecom had done to spark the recommendation that it be
ousted from US telecommunications services.
It said the company has inaccurately reported to US authorities
where it stores its US records and how it manages cybersecurity.
US national security officials have displayed increasing wariness of
Chinese telecommunications firms and technology.
Washington has banned Huawei, the world’s largest provider of
telecoms equipment and a leader in the new 5G technology, from
supplying US government systems and has strongly discouraged the
use of its equipment by the US private sector. US intelligence
believes Huawei equipment could be compromised by Chinese
intelligence, and Washington has pressured allies to find other
providers as well, AFP reports.
A recommendation by the government’s top departments, including Defense, State and Homeland Security, said that the Federal
Communications Commission should “revoke and terminate” all authorizations for the Chinese giant’s US subsidiary, China Telecom (Americas), to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.
"The Executive Branch agencies identified substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations, which render the FCC authorizations inconsistent with the public interest," the Justice Department said in a statement.
If approved, the move could mean that China Telecom’s hundreds of millions of phone and internet customers — it is China’s second largest mobile phone operator — could lose connectivity with or
through the United States.
The agencies making the recommendation — which also included the Justice Department, the Commerce Department, and the US Trade Representative — said China Telecom is vulnerable to "exploitation, influence and control" by the Chinese government.
The agencies also made the recommendation based on "the nature
of China Telecom’s US operations," which they said allow Chinese government actors "to engage in malicious cyber activity enabling economic espionage and disruption and misrouting of
The recommendation has to be decided upon by the FCC, but will
almost certainly involve the White House, where it could be weighed
amid ongoing trade negotiations with Beijing.
It came just five days after President Donald Trump’s administration
formed an interdepartmental body to formally review national security
concerns related to foreign telecommunications companies involved
in the United States.
In September 2019 two senators, Democrat Chuck Schumer and
Republican Tom Cotton, asked the FCC to consider banning China
Telecom and another company, China Unicom, from the US market
over national security concerns.
The statement on Thursday, April 9, did not explain specifically what
China Telecom had done to spark the recommendation that it be
ousted from US telecommunications services.
It said the company has inaccurately reported to US authorities
where it stores its US records and how it manages cybersecurity.
US national security officials have displayed increasing wariness of
Chinese telecommunications firms and technology.
Washington has banned Huawei, the world’s largest provider of
telecoms equipment and a leader in the new 5G technology, from
supplying US government systems and has strongly discouraged the
use of its equipment by the US private sector. US intelligence
believes Huawei equipment could be compromised by Chinese
intelligence, and Washington has pressured allies to find other
providers as well, AFP reports.
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