US tries to shrug off ignominy of rejection

The demonization of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei continues. But the note of hysteria that has accompanied the panicked cries reached an even higher pitch on Tuesday when a senior White House official denounced the Chinese company as “the Mafia” and called for it to be eliminated — by any means.

In an interview with CNBC, the official, who declined to be named, lashed out at Huawei for pursuing market dominance through dumping, theft and racketeering. “How do we deal with that when the largest player is in essence the Mafia?” he said.

That a law-abiding private company — which operates in 170 countries and regions connecting one-third of the world’s population — should be defamed in such a way by a government representative shows the desperate circus that now surrounds the company, trying to bury it under unsubstantiated claims of treachery and deceit.

The US Justice Department recently applied a law traditionally used for targeting organized crime in a bid to hobble Huawei — in addition to charges the department has already filed against the company such as fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of trade secrets.

But the only “crime” Huawei has committed so far is to enjoy a technological edge in the next-generation mobile telecommunications network. It is this that has made it subject to such orchestrated denigration by the US administration.

As one of the players that has helped set the technical standards for 5G, and a holder of key patents for the next-generation technology, it has moved the cheese of the United States, which is accustomed to being the one pushing the envelope for technology.

The fire and brimstone preaching of the US administration has attracted few disciples. The claim that the Chinese company poses a national security threat has not been backed up with evidence and so has found few gullible enough to believe it. Not to mention that the revelations of National Security Agency spying programs that targeted even the leaders of the closest US allies have exposed the real back door user and the monetary advantages sought by that means.

That’s why some of its allies such as the United Kingdom and Germany have not kept Huawei completely out of their telecommunications networks, despite the constantly increasing US pressure, including the threat of suspending the sharing of intelligence.

Instead of the ineffective smearing of Huawei as a national security threat, those in the US who are desperate to dissuade other countries from using Huawei gear should make an offer they can’t refuse by providing them with an alternative that can beat the Chinese competitor.

That’s what Don Vito Corleone did in The Godfather.