Photo: CFP

In its latest move to block Chinese companies in the telecommunications sector, the US has added China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA to its list of communications equipment and service providers deemed so-called threats to US national security.

The move, following the US' recent decision to bar other Chinese telecom carriers in the US, further signals the country's decoupling intention by politicizing business operations, which will hurt its own business environment and development of its telecom industry, Chinese experts told the Global Times.

The US Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau on Friday added equipment and services from two Chinese entities - China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA Inc - as well as Russia's AO Kaspersky Lab to its list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed "a threat to national security," according to a press release from the FCC.

Previously, in March 2021, the regulator put five Chinese companies on the list - Huawei Technologies Co, ZTE Corp, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co and Dahua Technology Co.

The FCC said it "will continue to update the list as other communications equipment and services meet the criteria under the law." 

The Chinese Embassy in Washington responded on Friday, saying that the FCC had "abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis. The US should immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies. China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," Reuters reported.

The China Association of Communication Enterprises (CACE) said in a statement released on Wednesday that it is strongly dissatisfied with the decision, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese information and communication enterprises as a representative of the industry.

"The FCC has abused state power to suppress Chinese firms using so-called national security concerns. This is naked economic and technological bullying. It is a blatant denial of the principles of market economy that the US has always championed. It has severely damaged the business environment in the US and harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and consumers around the world, including US users," the CACE said.

The US should withdraw its unfair decision against Chinese companies, stop generalizing the concept of national security and politicizing economic issues, and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies to invest and develop in the US, the CACE higlighted.

In statements sent to the Global Times early this week, both China Mobile and China Telecom said they will closely watch the situation and take relevant measures to firmly protect the companies' legitimate rights and interests. 

China Mobile also noted that the inclusion into the list is a "deliberate smear and unfair treatment against Chinese companies" without facts. On the other hand, China Telecom said the FCC's move to add its American firm in a so-called "covered list" is a decision that generalized the concept of national security and abused national power without justified evidence. It stressed that the firm has maintained compliant operations and strictly abided by local laws in countries and regions, including the US. 

"For Chinese firms, being included on the list has a limited impact due to the tiny business scale," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, an industry association, told the Global Times on Saturday.

In business terms, the US' decoupling move, which appears to be intensifying, will eventually hurt its own telecom industry, and the gap between China and the US particularly in the 5G era is likely to widen, Xiang said, noting that such US practices will also harm its own business environment due to the lack of trust and credibility.

The FCC decided on March 16 to revoke the right of Chinese telecom company Pacific Networks Corp and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC to provide relevant telecom services in the US.

China's top industry regulator - the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) - on Thursday urged the US to withdraw its decisions against the two Chinese telecom companies, stop politicizing economic issues, and create a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies to invest and develop in the US.

The move has severely damaged the business environment in the US, and it has harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and consumers around the world, including US users, the MIIT said.

The crackdown on Chinese telecom firms in the name of national security has intensified under US President Joe Biden's administration. Previously, the FCC revoked the licenses of China Telecom Americas and China Unicom (Americas) Operations to provide relevant telecom services in the US. Both firms had been operating in the US for about two decades before their licenses were revoked.

In 2021, three Chinese telecommunications companies - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom - were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, in line with US investment restrictions dating to 2020.

Experts warned that the US' targeting of the Chinese telecom firms intensifies its image as a bully on the international stage and risks a potential response in return.

"It is a consistent attack on Chinese companies by the US, with the ill-intended wish to put pressure on China, while attempting to seize the so-called initiative in dealing with China in diplomatic terms," Liu Dingding, an industry analyst, told the Global Times.