A day before the briefing, US lawmakers introduced bills to ban the sale of US chips and components to Huawei Technologies Co, ZTE Corp and other Chinese firms that violate sanctions and export control laws.
The bills name ZTE and Huawei, as the US views both of them with suspicion of spying on Americans.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal had reported that federal prosecutors were investigating allegations that Huawei stole trade secrets from T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS) and other native businesses.
HUAWEI FOUNDER DEFENDS FIRM
Despite Canada detaining Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is also founder Ren Zhengfei’s daughter, Ren denied that his company was in cahoots with the Chinese government.
Canada had detained Ren’s daughter at the request of US authorities who were investigating an alleged scheme to evade sanctions against Iran.
The US legislation is the latest in a long list of actions taken to fight what the Trump administration view as the Asian country involving in intellectual property theft, illegal corporate subsidies, and rules hampering US corporations who sell goods in China.
China growth to slow down in 2019 on slumping domestic demand, tariff concerns
Back in November, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into China’s trade practices focused on trade secret theft cases.
Then, Washington indicted Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co Ltd for stealing trade secrets from US rival Micron Technology.
Despite an array of allegations, ZTE is looking for resolutions. Last year, ZTE agreed to a $1 billion fine slapped by the US due to an embargo breach on Iran. The US then lifted a ban in place since April that had prevented ZTE from buying the components from America that it heavily relies on for its smartphones and devices.