U.S. designates five Chinese companies as security threats

In return, China says the US has “zero credibility”

The Biden Administration has labeled five Chinese tech companies, including Huawei, as national security threats, according to Reuters. The agency designated the companies as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law. The Trump-era law aims at protecting U.S. communications networks.

The FCC named Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hangzhou Hikvision and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co.

Biden Administration enforces a Trump-era law from 2019

A 2019 law requires the FCC to identify companies producing telecommunications equipment and services “that have been found to pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security.”

The law used criteria from a previous defense authorization bill. That bill had identified the five Chinese companies. The U.S. issued regulations barring agencies from buying goods or services from any of the companies named.

The United States placed Huawei, Hikvision and other firms on its economic blacklist in 2019. The FCC named Huawei and ZTE as a national security threat to communications networks.

Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued a statement. “This list provides meaningful guidance,” she noted, adding that the guidance “will ensure that as next-generation networks are built across the country, they do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

She added that the list provides “meaningful guidance that will ensure that as next-generation networks are built across the country, they do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”

China responds, calling the U.S. an “unreliable country”

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry responded harshly, saying that the US is “an unreliable country with zero credibility.” They added that Washington “must immediately stop oppressing Chinese firms & treat them in a fair, just & non-discriminatory manner.”

Under the Trump administration, the relationship between the two countries had deteriorated amid accusations of unfair trade practices by Beijing. Trump also criticized China for a lack of transparency concerning the pandemic.