Editorial | Huawei is right to take the American government to court

China’s companies have to be confident on the global stage if they are to succeed against competitors. Huawei has been gradually finding that out amid the onslaught by the United States against its products. Its filing of a lawsuit contending the American government’s ban on federal agencies using its equipment is unconstitutional is a daring, but necessary, move. A smear campaign is under way and the legal system is the best way to lay out arguments and counter accusations.

Step-by-step, US President Donald Trump’s administration has been raising the heat on Huawei, the pressure in tandem with the trade war against China. The company is the nation’s leading technology firm and to the US, a symbol of Chinese ambitions and competitiveness. First came the bans on national security grounds, then Canada’s arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, at the request of the US to face extradition on fraud charges, and numerous further counts including money-laundering and theft of trade secrets. Huawei has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and it pleaded not guilty to 13 charges in a New York court last week. Efforts have also turned to blocking the company from participating in 5G mobile broadband networks, Australia and New Zealand having already signed on and Canada, Britain and Germany among nations likely to make a decision soon.

The administration is using pressure tactics, warning allies relations will be affected if they do not comply. Germany has reportedly been told that Washington will curb intelligence-sharing should Berlin go ahead with plans to use Huawei equipment in its 5G system. Governments have good reason to turn to the firm; its products are cost-effective and technologically as good as or even better than American and European counterparts.

US self-interest is behind the moves; the country’s firms are waiting to fill any void. The US argument is that Huawei and other Chinese tech companies are a security risk due to their alleged close connections to Beijing, highlighted by a law passed in 2017 that requires companies and organisations to “support, cooperate with and collaborate in national intelligence work”. Coupled with Ren having been a military engineer before founding Huawei, there are inevitable claims of spying and storing and collection of sensitive data. But 5G opens a new era for connectivity and nations are bound to be sensitive and vigilant. Ren and Beijing contend the American actions are politically motivated and comments from Trump and his officials would seem to back such assertions. Governments have to make up their minds about which companies should participate in telecom networks. Huawei’s legal challenge provides a defence and offers a chance to prove its worthiness.