China, US trade war, dialogue must be based on mutual respect – Chinese Ambassador
The People’s Republic of China has described attempts by the United States (US) to “oppress” Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications equipment company, from making inroads into other foreign markets, as groundless.
“For quite a while, in order to oppress Huawei, the US has been wracking its brains to make up stories in an attempt to convince people from the US and other countries that Huawei poses a security risk but this is totally groundless and the US government cannot show any evidence so far.”
Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang in an interview with the Ghanaian Times implored “the US to correct its wrong act of using state power to bring down foreign businesses, seeking illegitimate interests, disrupting market and undermining international cooperation.”
He reiterated that China believed in dialogue and consultation based on “mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit” insisting that new tariffs imposed by the US amounted to “trade protectionism which is against the trend of globalisation”.
“China does not want trade war and is not afraid of it but we will fight one when necessary,” the Ambassador pointed out.
The Trump administration has moved to ‘punish’ Huawei on national security grounds amid a bitter trade dispute with China.
U.S. officials have in recent times waged an intense campaign to persuade European partners that Huawei 5G poses an unacceptable security risk, pointing to indictments accusing the Chinese company of stealing intellectual property and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.
According to officials, Huawei was bounded by a 2017 law requiring Chinese citizens and companies to assist China’s security agencies in carrying out intelligence work leading to a massive economic espionage against Western countries by the Chinese government.
But despite warnings that the Huawei equipment could be used to aid Chinese espionage or sabotage, the company is expanding its foothold in the 5G landscape in Europe.
Meanwhile, Huawei has built a strong defence of the allegations levelled against it, denying that it neither hacks foreign networks for commercial advantage nor builds “back doors” in its products to spy on other countries.
It has thus sued the Trump administration over the ban asking a federal court to rule in its favour.
By Times Reporter
