U.S. Concerned Huawei Deal Could Pose Threat to National Security

Feb. 11, 2011
Lawmakers say Huawei of has 'ties with the People's Liberation Army, the Taliban, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard'

Lawmakers expressed concern on Feb. 10 over the sale of U.S. computer firm 3Leaf Systems to Chinese technology giant Huawei, saying the deal could pose a "serious risk" to U.S. national security.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and three other lawmakers accused Huawei of having "ties with the People's Liberation Army, the Taliban, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard." Citing press reports, they said Huawei had purchased 3Leaf's intellectual property and hired a number of its employees in May 2010.

3Leaf Systems, founded in 2004, offers software that allows computer resources to be reallocated according to a user's needs across a computer network.

"Allowing Huawei and, by extension, communist China to have access to this core technology could pose a serious risk as U.S. computer networks come to further rely on and integrate this technology," the lawmakers said. "Huawei has well-established ties with the People's Liberation Army; it has also reportedly received extensive government support from the People's Republic of China," they said.

"Likewise, Huawei has supplied equipment to Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, and now appears to be working extensively in Iran's telecom sector, of which the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps owns a significant stake," they said.

"We are convinced that any attempt Huawei makes to expand its presence in the U.S. or acquire U.S. companies warrants thorough scrutiny," the lawmakers said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011

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