Huawei says US government is 'ignorant of technology'

Having faced accusations of conducting espionage on behalf of the Chinese government, Huawei has lashed out at the US government, accusing officials of being "ignorant of technology".

Huawei has been hit with numerous bans by the US, and the country has encouraged others around the world to follow its lead. But the company's chief security officer, John Suffolk, says there is no evidence that China could make use of Huawei's 5G equipment to spy on people, suggesting that US allegations were politically motivated.

See also:

• Huawei's 'shoddy' security could mean it is banned from sensitive parts of the UK's 5G network
• UK watchdog says Huawei poses a national security risk
• Sources: Huawei is on the verge of suing the US government

While Suffolk is adamant that Huawei is doing nothing wrong, he acknowledges that convincing the US of this will be near-impossible. He says that the US government is "belittling national security", adding, "national security is important and they shouldn't belittle it. They should face up to the reality that technology is complicated and should work together to solve the problems that we can".

As reported by the Guardian, Suffolk says:

[America] can't keep saying [Huawei] has got some dodgy technology. Snowden revealed all kind of things going on with American technology. No one has revealed anything that we do [is bad].

Huawei is, Suffolk says, open to testing and verification to prove its innocence, but suggests that a deep-seated technological ignorance from US officials is a problem. He says he frequently had to "explain it to them like I do to my kids".

He is convinced that a fear of competition is also playing a part in the American attitude towards Huawei:

China is just another country: it has a different value system, a different political system, but they're just people like you or I. What is the real fear? Is it because it's China or because the technology is better?

The reality is we're a Chinese company, our founder is Chinese -- that's not his fault. We're very proud to be a Chinese company, but being a Chinese company means that in some quarters the spotlight will always be on you, and there's nothing you can do about it.

America says it wants open competition but then says: "Huawei, you can't work in America -- you're banned". My belief is America should face up to competition, it should face up to competition because American citizens will benefit.

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