Alleged bribery probe on ZTE by US is ‘wanton oppression’: expert

By Global Times Published: Mar 14, 2020 07:13 PM

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The US Justice Department's latest investigation on Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE for alleged bribery is nothing but another wanton oppressive move which uses the "long-arm jurisdiction" as a weapon to stymie competition, said an industry insider.

For ZTE, which has managed a strong comeback as the second strongest 5G player in China's 5G industry from US' relentless suppression three years ago, the current US investigation will not bring severe impacts for now, said Xiang Ligang, a veteran industry watcher, commenting on a NBC report which lacked detail concerning the new investigation.

NBC on Friday reported that ZTE is currently under a new and separate bribery investigation by the US Justice Department, citing two people briefed on the matter. But the report didn't provide detailed information on the new investigation.

"The investigation, if true, is another typical long-arm jurisdiction tactic that the US has been using to crack down on foreign corporate competitors," Xiang Ligang told the Global Times on Saturday, adding that many investigations have turned out to be groundless.

There is no shortage of such examples, such as what the US did to French company Alstom and Chinese tech giant Huawei, Xiang added.

A ZTE representative said that the company is fully committed to meeting its legal and compliance obligations. The priority of the company's leadership is making ZTE a trusted and reliable business partner in the global marketplace, and the company is proud of the enormous progress it has made, NBC reported.

Documents show that ZTE's code of conduct bars employees from paying or accepting bribes in China or abroad, the report said.

ZTE, which was fined about $2.3 billion by the US government in 2017 and 2018, more than three times its total profits in 2017, has managed an impressive comeback after overcoming the heavy blow, with a significant stock price rally.

Xiang said that ZTE owns technology knowhow and cost efficiency advantages, and has kept making itself stronger through market competition.