CIA Alleges Huawei Accepted Funds From Chinese Military

The CIA has told government officials in the UK and elsewhere that Chinese telecoms maker Huawei accepted funds from Chinese military and intelligence agencies, The Times reported on Saturday.

The US intelligence agency alleged that Huawei accepted funds from China’s National Security Commission, the People’s Liberation Army and a third branch of the Chinese state intelligence network, the paper said.

The allegations were provided to top politicians in the UK and the other ‘Five Eyes’ countries, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, earlier this year, The Times said, citing a UK source.

US officials are pressuring allies to ban Huawei products from their 5G networks amidst trade tensions between the US and China, saying the kit could be used for spying.

Security

To date, only Australia and New Zealand have agreed to an outright ban, with other allies opting to monitor Chinese products to ensure they’re secure.

The UK is entering the final stages of a review into the issue.

Huawei has always denied its products could be used for spying.

A representative of the company said Huawei would not comment on “unsubstantiated allegations backed up by zero evidence from anonymous sources”.

The US is reportedly planning to use a summit in Prague next month to push allies to adopt telecoms security approaches that would effectively mean banning Chinese companies.

The US government has banned its agencies from using Huawei gear, and top educational institutions have ended deals with Chinese firms to avoid losing federal funding.