ZTE, Huawei address U.S. IT security concerns

Chinese telecom equipment giants ZTE and Huawei said they are willing to work with the U.S. to tackle concerns over the security of IT equipment imported from China.

ZTE has long been committed to providing reliable solutions for U.S. carriers and the company has pledged to offer high-level guarantees and safety evaluations for its software, firmware and hardware, according to a company executive who requested anonymity.

ZTE highly values the U.S. market and wishes to work with U.S. government agencies to tackle network safety concerns, the executive said.

"Cyber security is a significant challenge facing our industry today. The solution must involve governments, telecommunications operators and companies, including Huawei and our peers, as well as end users coming together to take collaborative, solution-oriented, multi-lateral approaches to mitigate risks," Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said in a statement.

Huawei equipment is almost non-existent in U.S. networks at present and the company has never sold any key equipment to major U.S. carriers or to any U.S. government agency, Ren said.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed a spending bill in late March that restricts government purchases of Chinese IT equipment.

Sun Zhe, a professor of international studies at Tsinghua University, said the purchase restrictions reflect the U.S. government's precautionary attitude towards and suppression of Chinese tech companies.

"The U.S. government wishes to tap the Chinese market to aid its economic recovery but is not willing to let Chinese high-tech companies grow stronger," Sun said.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said the restrictions violate fair trade rules and have damaged bilateral cooperation in the high-tech sector.