US attacks Huawei again; Mike Pompeo says it has ties to Chinese intelligence

Huawei is owned by the Chinese government, has deep connections to their intelligence services and presents a national security threat, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cautioned, urging the countries to think twice before signing up with one the world’s biggest tech firms. Shenzhen-based Huawei has faced increasing headwinds in its push to make inroads in the US market, as the White House and Republican lawmakers target Chinese tech companies, citing national security concerns. The company has repeatedly denied allegations from US lawmakers that its technology could be used by the Chinese government to gather intelligence. In his address at the “Future Farmers of America” event in Iowa on Monday, Pompeo said the company has at least two things that threaten the US.

“One is that they – there’s a risk that they’ll steal American technology, and frankly, use those systems to invade your privacy. That is, they do telecommunications equipment that provide backbone services for networks, handsets all throughout the IT infrastructure and soon will be moving across the entire world with their new 5G rollout of their equipment,” Pompeo said.