Amid national security concerns, the US revoked China Telecom’s licence to counter possible infiltration of its key networks by Chinese companies. The decision was made by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and it comes at an important time, shortly after US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping vowed to rebuild communication channels after years of rising tensions. It is clear that even the current administration is not helping China anymore, reported The HK Post.
According to the FCC, China telecom is subject to control, influence and exploitation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government and it is highly likely that it will be forced to comply with the Chinese government’s illegal requests to acquire data. This could be a huge security concern for the US.
With China’s 2017 National security law in place, US actions can only be said to be justified, reported The HK Post. This law was passed on June 27, 2017, and it came into effect the very next day on June 28, 2017. It gives the Communist Party of China sweeping powers to control and mine data from companies under its purview, most of which have an international presence.
Continuing to give China Telecom access to the USA’s market would be equal to inviting espionage. China is known to steal trade secrets and other confidential business information, reported The HK Post.
In fact, the FCC also added that China Telecom America’s conduct with it and other US government agencies also demonstrated a lack of trustworthiness and reliability. Even the department of justice had said that China Telecom made “inaccurate” statements about where US records were stored, reported The HK Post
