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The U.S. government said it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from several prominent Chinese brands in an effort to protect the nation’s communications network. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously on Friday to expand its ban on the sale and import of Chinese technology from firms that pose an “unacceptable risk to the national security” of the United States. The decision implements the directive in the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 signed by President Biden in November that places additional restrictions on companies including Huawei and ZTE, surveillance camera makers Hikvision and Dahua, and two-way radio manufacturer...

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced it is banning telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from prominent Chinese brands, including Huawei and ZTE, citing an "unacceptable risk to national security". The five-member FCC said on Friday it had voted unanimously to adopt new rules that will block the importation or sale of the targeted products. "Our unanimous decision represents the first time in the FCC's history that we have voted to prohibit the authorization of communications and electronic equipment based on national security considerations," FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in a statement on Friday. He added that the...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Sept. 27 announced the start date for a $1.9 billion program to repay U.S. telecom carriers to “rip and replace” network equipment manufactured by Huawei, ZTE, and other China-based companies designated as national security threats.Carriers will be able to apply for the funds beginning on Oct. 29 through Jan. 14, 2022. The FCC adopted rules in December last year requiring carriers to replace all equipment made by Huawei and ZTE.The FCC designated Huawei and ZTE as national security threats on June 30 last year, barring U.S. firms from using an $8.3 billion government fund...

STOCKHOLM—Sweden on Tuesday banned on security grounds the use of telecom equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network ahead of a spectrum auction scheduled for next month, joining other European nations that have restricted the role of Chinese suppliers.The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) said the setting of the licence conditions followed assessments by the Swedish Armed Forces and security service, which called China “one of the biggest threats against Sweden”.European governments have been tightening controls on Chinese companies building 5G networks, following diplomatic pressure from Washington, which alleges Huawei equipment could be used by...

DANA THOMPSON, A FORMER LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF COUNSEL TO REP. MAXINE WATERS, REGISTERED AS A LOBBYIST ON BEHALF A HOST OF CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY-LINKED ENTITIES, THE NATIONAL PULSE CAN REVEAL. Thompson, who also served as Chief of Staff for Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, was a former Principal at lobbying behemoth Podesta Group before co-founding Fulcrum Public Affairs, the “only 100% Black and Latinx-owned government relations firm in Washington, DC.” While at the Podesta Group, the project of Democratic heavyweights John and Tony Podesta, Thompson registered to lobby on behalf of three Chinese Communist Party-linked entities: a controversial telecommunications...

Federal contractors have about six weeks to meet a provision in the 2019 Defense authorization bill that says they are not using any equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in their supply chains... This means state and local governments, as well as schools and libraries, who receive money from the FCC’s $8.3 billion dollar Universal Service Fund may no longer purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by these suppliers.

In Italy, China is no longer thought of as the origin of COVID-19, but as a friend in a time of dire need.Medics and paramedics from China salute as the board a Red Cross vehicle upon arrival at the Malpensa airport of Milan, March 18, 2020. Italy has been an alluring geopolitical prize throughout the ages because of its strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean, its wealth, and the useful skills of its people. Now it’s the turn of today’s rising power, China, to seek to extend its influence there. Last year, Italy signed a Memorandum of Understanding...

Earlier this year, Huawei-funded analysis had claimed that the costs for Europe to move away from Huawei were shockingly high, suggesting as much as $62 billion would need to be spent. This $62 billion figure comprised a range of costs that included replacing existing equipment and deploying new 5G equipment. And other industry players claimed this heavily overstated the need to replace legacy technology to deploy new 5G equipment. Even so, it was a number that grabbed the headlines, especially as it also suggested delays of up to 18-months. This difference in methodologies in calculating the likely cost to Europe...

The Department of Education has launched an investigation into foreign cash secretly flowing into U.S. universities and sent letters to Georgetown University and Texas A&M Thursday. A Senate report found that 70 percent of colleges that took money from a Chinese propaganda program broke the law by not disclosing it. Almost all of the colleges contracted to shape U.S. textbooks on the Middle East received massive funding from countries in the region. The Department of Education is going after U.S universities over supposed ties to foreign governments, after some allegedly took huge quantities of foreign cash and hid it from...

Shenzhen (CNN Business)Huawei is pressing on with its lawsuit against the United States, challenging the constitutionality of a US law banning federal agencies from buying its products. The embattled Chinese tech firm said Wednesday that it wants Washington to "halt illegal action" against it, calling US restrictions on Huawei an attempt to put it out of business. American politicians are "using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company," Song Liuping, Huawei's chief legal officer, said in a press conference in Shenzhen. Huawei has filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to overturn part...

On May 16th, German media published an article entitled “Europeans should not blindly follow Trump”, calling on Germany and Europe as a whole to not blindly follow the United States in its clampdown against Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese telecom equipment suppliers.

Two former top Obama administration officials are working on behalf of Huawei, even as the Chinese telecom giant faces a Trump administration that increasingly sees it as 'a threat to national security'..... President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday likely aimed at limiting the influence of Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies the U.S. intelligence community and law enforcement officials see as threats. But 'Samir Jain', 'Obama’s senior director for cybersecurity' policy for the National Security Council, registered as a lobbyist for Huawei in March 2019,.... and 'James Cole', who was Obama’s deputy attorney general from 2011 to 2015, has...

ZTE reportedly hires former Sen. Joe Lieberman to spearhead a national security assessment of its products. "There are obviously still concerns about the safety of their products or the extent to which their products could be used to compromise American security in any way or even individual security," Lieberman tells Politico in an interview. ZTE has "decided to really try to get ahead of those concerns and be in a position to answer them," he says. Lieberman adds that while he will register as a lobbyist, he will be focusing on his national security evaluation and won't actually lobby for...

The Senate voted Monday night to reinstate the U.S. ban on Chinese telecom giant ZTE, which has violated American sanctions and was labeled as a national security threat by the Pentagon. Why it matters: The Senate's rejection is a strong rebuke, by lawmakers from both parties, of the Trump administration's decision to resurrect ZTE.

U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican allies in Congress are moving to block his deal to put Chinese telecom giant ZTE back in business if it pays $1 billion more in fines for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. The Chinese company has been accused of violating U.S. sanctions by selling sensitive equipment to both North Korea and Iran. After Trump announced his deal with China and ZTE last week, Senate leaders said they would seek to reverse it. Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced the amendment. Among other things, it would restore penalties on ZTE for violating U.S. export controls and bar...

The U.S. has struck a deal with Chinese telecom giant ZTE to end crippling American sanctions, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC on Thursday. The department said the deal includes a $1 billion penalty against ZTE and a U.S.-chosen compliance team. "We are literally embedding a compliance department of our choosing into the company to monitor it going forward. They will pay for those people, but the people will report to the new chairman," Ross said in a "Squawk Box" interview. ZTE's latest brush with U.S. regulators came after the company's business dealings with Iran and North Korea violated U.S....

Exclusive: U.S. may soon claim up to $1.7 billion penalty from China's ZTE - sources Karen Freifeld (Reuters) - The Trump administration may soon claim as much as $1.7 billion penalty from ZTE Corp (000063.SZ), as it looks to punish and tighten control over the Chinese telecommunications company before allowing it back into business, according to people familiar with the matter. The Commerce Department is also seeking unfettered site visits to verify U.S. components are being used as claimed by ZTE, and wants it to post calculations of the U.S. components in its products on a website, the people said....

More than 60 Democratic representatives are demanding an ethics investigation into President Trump's ties to China, following the president's recent push to rescue Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) posted a letter to David Apol, acting head of the federal government's ethics office, to Twitter on Sunday, stating that the request was prompted by Trump "advocating" for ZTE just days after the Chinese government gave one of the president's business endeavors a $500 million loan. In the letter, lawmakers say the business dealing between the Trump Organization and China may have violated U.S. laws forbidding public officials from...

In a direct challenge to President Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that Congress would take steps to prevent the Chinese tech firm ZTE from being able to operate in the United States. Trump had announced last week that he would allow the telecom giant to ”reopen,” in a stunning reversal after the United States had imposed[snip] The senator did not go into specifics about what kind of legislative measure Congress might pursue to block the president. The annual defense authorization bills being considered in Congress already contain a prohibition on the federal government using Huawei and ZTE products. Rubio...

President Trump told Fox News on Friday he has struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease U.S. sanctions imposed on Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE. The Commerce Department last month blocked China's ZTE from importing American components for seven years, accusing it of misleading U.S. regulators after it last year settled charges of violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The ban was a virtual death sentence for ZTE, which relies on U.S. parts. The Trump administration, though, caused controversy by putting ZTE in play amid trade negotiations. According to Trump, Xi recently called him to ask if...