"Huawei is too close to the government"

TOKYO – While the Trump administration sought to prevent Huawei from becoming more established in US partner countries, Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan has doubled US concerns during a trip. of a week in Asia.

"Huawei is too close to the government," Shanahan said last week at the IISS Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore, adding that Washington remains concerned about sharing information with its partners on networks based on Chinese technology.

US authorities have long complained that China's intellectual property theft has cost the economy billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs, threatening national security. China maintains that it does not commit theft of intellectual property.

Shanahan's comments follow Beijing's decision to raise US $ 60 billion in tariffs on US products, raising the stakes in the trade war in favor of humans. Trade negotiations failed in May, with intellectual property theft being a major problem between the two parties.

General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously said that if US allies proceed with Huawei's equipment, intelligence cooperation could be compromised.

"One of the elements that underlies an alliance is the ability to share information." When we share information with allies and partners, we must apply common standards in terms of insurance coverage. 39, information, "Dunford told the credit sub-committee in the House last month. "We need to make sure that our secrets are protected, whether it's intelligence or technology transfer."

Echoing Dunford's sentiments, Shanahan told lawmakers in the hearing that "China is looking to make its way to a China-controlled global technology infrastructure, including 5G."

"Huawei is a good illustration of the systemic, organized and state-led approach of the Chinese Communist Party aimed at ensuring world leadership in advanced technologies," he said.

Last year, the Pentagon suspended sales of Huawei and ZTE mobile phones and modems on military bases around the world due to potential security risks.

"These devices can pose an unacceptable risk to the staff and mission of the ministry," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn wrote. The Pentagon reiterated Friday that its policy of banning appliances is still in effect.

Since 2012, the US government has warned against the use of Huawei equipment and components, alongside one of Huawei's Chinese competitors, ZTE. The company has been effectively banned since then, and Trump's recent decree formalized the recommendations.

"US government systems should not include Huawei or ZTE equipment," said a report released in 2012 by the Special Committee on Intelligence.

"Likewise, public contractors, especially those working on contracts for sensitive US systems, should exclude ZTE or Huawei equipment from their systems."

The Ministry of Justice is awaiting the extradition hearing of Huawei's chief financial officer, accused of fraud related to the sale of the company's equipment to Iran, in violation of the sanctions imposed by the United States. The financial director of Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's chief executive, is currently on bail in Canada.

In addition, Huawei is facing a lawsuit in the state of Washington over allegations that the company allegedly conspired to steal trade secrets from the US T-Mobile unit for a robotic system used to test the smart phones.

Read more: Huawei USA security chief suggests company may be open to "mitigation measures" to address US national security concerns

Regarding Huawei's alleged links with the Beijing government, the company has strongly denied the accusations. The 2012 report and subsequent briefings on Huawei do not indicate clear evidence of Huawei's ties with Beijing, but claim that it is too risky to allow Huawei to provide this essential equipment. Huawei officials said they have repeatedly asked the Ministry of Defense to allow the company to undergo a risk mitigation process, but no agreement has been discussed yet.

"Finding and eliminating all the important vulnerabilities of a complex product is a monumental task," the report says. "If we consider defects intentionally inserted by a determined and intelligent insider, the task becomes virtually impossible."

– Kate Fazzini contributed to this report from CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.