China denounces US’ Mike Pompeo for ‘rumours’ about Huawei links to Beijing
- Washington has never produced clear evidence, Chinese Foreign Ministry says
- US Secretary of State said telecoms maker was lying about ties to Chinese government
China on Friday denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for fabricating rumours after he said the chief executive of China’s Huawei Technologies was lying about his company’s ties to the Beijing government.
Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services.
Pompeo, speaking on Thursday, also dismissed Huawei chief exexcutive Ren Zhengfei’s assertions that his company would never share user secrets, and said he believed more American companies would cut ties with the tech giant.
“Recently, some US politicians have continually fabricated rumours about Huawei but have never produced the clear evidence that countries have requested,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, when asked about Pompeo’s remarks.
The United States has been rallying its allies to persuade them not to use Huawei for their 5G networks, citing security concerns.
Lu said the US government was provoking suspicion in the US public to confuse and instigate opposition.
Lu said he did not know what Trump was talking about.
“Frankly, I’m actually not sure what the specific meaning of the US leader, the US side, saying this is,” he said, adding that if reporters were interested they should ask the United States to clarify.
Lu reiterated that the United States should stop using its national power to suppress and smear other countries’ companies, adding that China wanted to resolve differences between the two countries through friendly dialogue and consultation.
