MIT: Huawei, ZTE links have been suspended

[ad_1]

MIT, one of the top universities in the United States, said the decision came after a re-examination of "high-risk" international projects or partnerships.

"MIT is not accept new commitments or renew existing commitments with Huawei and ZTE or their respective subsidiaries due to federal investigations into breaches of sanctions restrictions, "said Maria Zuber and Richard Lester, respectively vice president of research and Senior Associate of the University, in a letter to the school community on Wednesday.

Administrators also said that the university had determined that working with some countries – especially China, Russia and Saudi Arabia – "deserved further review of faculty and administration beyond the usual assessments".

Any project involving funding from people or entities from these countries, from MIT faculty or from students working in the country, would be the subject of a thorough review, did they declared.

The university added that she would "revisit" her collaborations with Huawei and ZTE (ZTCOF) over time, and could revise the list of countries according to changing circumstances.

Students working in a glass cube on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018. The university suspends its ties with Huawei and ZTE.

Huawei, one of the world's largest suppliers of telecommunications equipment, smartphones and other devices, is under international scrutiny as the United States strives to reduce the company's ambitions. become the world leader in 5G, the next generation of wireless technology.

Washington has urged its allies to restrict or ban the use of Huawei equipment in their 5G networks, claiming that Beijing could use the company's products to spy on other nations. Huawei denies that any of its products pose a risk to national security.

US prosecutors have also accused Huawei and his chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, of violating US sanctions against Iran. Huawei and Meng deny the charges.

The partnerships between Huawei and ZTE with the university are unclear. MIT did not respond to a request for additional comment outside of normal business hours. ZTE refused to comment on the university statement.

"We are disappointed by the decision of MIT, but we understand the pressure they are undergoing right now," said a spokesman for Huawei. told CNN Business.

"We believe that scientific research is conducted in the interest of all humankind and should be free from the influence of geopolitics." Huawei denies the US government's allegations and we hope that the judicial system American will come to the right conclusion, "he added.

In August 2018, Huawei was on the list of the MIT Media Lab Consortium, which has more than 80 members, including other large technology companies such as whitefish (CSCO), Intel (INTC) and Salesforce (CRM).

The consortium provides the bulk of its annual budget of about $ 75 million to conduct research on technologies such as "wearable computing, tangible interfaces and affective computing", according to the MIT website.

Huawei's profits increase by 25% despite US efforts to limit its activities

University officials said the new review process will pay special attention "to risks related to intellectual property, export controls, security and privacy." access to data, economic competitiveness, national security as well as political, civil and human rights, as well as potential impacts on the MIT community, coherence with the fundamental values of MIT and alignment with the MIT academic mission. "

ZTE, a Shenzhen-based company that also makes smartphones and telecom equipment, was banned from buying components from US companies for several months last year. The ban was linked to the fact that ZTE would violate the sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran.

Last month, Stanford University also suspended its partnership with Huawei, temporarily banning the acceptance of gifts "and other aids" from the company, according to its student newspaper.

"We are sensitive to the federal government's concerns about technology being appropriated by other countries at the expense of US national security," said a campus spokesman, The Stanford Daily.

Sherisse Pham contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link