China says Trump should dump iPhone for Huawei

CHINA’S foreign ministry has some suggestions for the Trump administration if it is worried about foreign eavesdropping on the US president’s iPhones: Use a Huawei handset instead.

Or just cut all forms of modern communication with the outside world.

The riposte came after the New York Times reported that American intelligence reports indicated that Chinese and Russian spies often listen in on President Donald Trump when he uses his Apple cellphones to chat with old friends.

Aides have repeatedly told him that his cellphone calls are not secure, but although the president has been persuaded to use his secure White House landline more often, he has refused to give up the phones, the Times said.

Trump called the Times report incorrect yesterday, and dismissed it as “long and boring.” “I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!” Trump wrote on Twitter. In a later tweet, he said, “I rarely use a cellphone, & when I do it’s government authorized. I like Hard Lines. Just more made up Fake News!”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also dismissed the Times story, calling such reports “evidence that the New York Times makes fake news.”

She also offered two suggestions apparently aimed at the Trump administration. “If they are really very worried about Apple phones being bugged, then they can change to use Huawei,” she said, referring to China’s biggest telecommunications equipment maker. “If they are still not at ease, then in order to have an entirely secure device, they can stop using all forms of modern communication devices and cut off all ties with the outside world.”

Russia, too, dismissed the eavesdropping allegations.

“We already treat these sort of stories with a certain humor,” said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “We regret this newspaper unthinkingly publishes information which most likely indicates a decline in journalistic standards.”

The Times’ report provided few details on how China and Russia were monitoring Trump’s communications aside from noting the calls were intercepted as they travel through the US cellphone network.

Trump repeatedly excoriated his Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, on the issue of secure communications, rebuking her for her use of a private e-mail address and server while she was secretary of state.