US senators call for approvals review of Chinese telecoms operators

Two Chinese state-owned telecom companies have been singled out for scrutiny by US senators who have called for a review into whether they should be allowed to continue operating in the US at a time of heightened concern about possible spying.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer and Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, asked Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai to review approvals in the early 2000s that allow China Telecom and China Unicom to operate in the US.

“These state-owned companies continue to have access to our telephone lines, fibre optic cables, cellular networks and satellites in ways that could give it (China) the ability to target the content of communications of Americans or their businesses and the US government, including through the ‘hijacking’ of telecommunications traffic by redirecting it through China,” the senators wrote in a letter that was also sent to the departments of defence and homeland security.

The FCC in May voted unanimously to deny another state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, China Mobile, the right to provide services in the US, citing risks that the Chinese government could use the approval to conduct espionage against the US government. The FCC disclosed at the time that it was reviewing existing approvals.

Pai “has made it clear that the commission is reviewing other Chinese communications companies such as China Telecom and China Unicom,” FCC spokesman Brian Hart said.

China Telecom spokesman Ge Yu said the company “has been providing telecom services to US corporations for almost 20 years. We make the protection of our customers’ data a priority, and have built a solid reputation as one of the best telecom companies in the world.” He added that the company worked to maintain “good standing with all regulatory agencies.”