China telcos fight to keep operating in US

THE US units of China Telecom Corp’s and China Unicom have urged the Federal Communications Commission not to revoke the company’s nearly two-decade old authorisation to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.

China Telecom (America)’s filing late on Monday came after the US Justice Department and other federal agencies in April asked the FCC to act, citing national security concerns in a new flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

China Telecom (Americas), the US subsidiary of a People’s Republic of China state-owned telecommunications company, called the government’s claims “unfounded” and argued the FCC should not revoke its right to operate in the US “based solely on foreign policy concerns in the absence of any evidence whatsoever of specific misconduct”.

It added the company’s “conduct to date does not demonstrate any reasonable basis for the US government’s stated lack of trust”.

The Justice Department, along with Homeland Security, Defense, State and Commerce Departments, in April cited “substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s operations”.

In April, the FCC issued show-cause orders warning it might shut down the US operations of three state-controlled Chinese telecommunications companies: China Telecom, China Unicom and Pacific Networks Corp and its subsidiary ComNet (USA).

FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in April the agency had deep concerns “about these companies’ vulnerability to the exploitation, influence, and control of the Chinese Communist Party”.