Chinese telecom operators Photo: VCG

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday banned five Chinese firms from selling telecom equipment in the US, citing the catch-all excuse of "national security," a move that Chinese experts warned will only hurt the global value chain and it will backfire.

The FCC "adopted new rules prohibiting communications equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security from being authorized for importation or sale in the US," read a statement released on its website.

Chinese leading technology firms Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology were added to the list.

The US has relentlessly cracked down on Chinese technology companies in recent years to thwart China's rise. From ZTE and Huawei to China Telecom and China Mobile, "nearly all Chinese telecom giants have been viciously attacked by the US," Ma Jihua, a veteran industry observer, told the Global Times on Sunday.

In March 2021, the FCC released a so-called list of communications equipment and services that have been deemed a threat to national security, and included the above five Chinese companies on the list.

A year later in March 2022, the FCC added China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA to the list; and later in September, it added Pacific Network Corp and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC and China Unicom (Americas) Operations to the list.

Yet, the impact of the latest ban on Chinese firms could be limited, as many of them have already reduced operations in the US market due to the US government's hostility, experts said.

The so-called national security threat is groundless, and the US' moves violate the rules of the market economy and undermine the international economic and trade order. It has become increasingly clear that the US assault has seen diminishing marginal effect. Chinese technology firms will not only survive, but also keep up growing robustly, experts said.

US FCC Illustration:Xia Qing/GT

 Huawei reported a 113.7-billion-yuan ($15.9 billion) net profit in 2021, surging 75.9 percent year-on-year. Sales totaled 636.8 billion yuan, according to the company's annual report.

China and Chinese technology companies have been ramping up efforts in new technology research and development (R&D). Huawei's R&D investment reached 142.7 billion yuan in 2021, accounting for 22.4 percent of its annual revenue. The 5G front-runner has more than 6,000 chief experts and scientists, as well as over 100,000 engineers.

Over the past decade, China's investment in science and technology has increased significantly from 1.03 trillion yuan to 2.79 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Instead of containing China's development, the US' "decoupling" policy will only hurt the global industrial chain and its own economic growth, as well as systematically degrade the US market and Americans' livelihoods, experts noted.

Global Times