Huawei hits out at US trade barriers due to false spying claims

Chinese technology giant Huawei has claimed it faced unfair barriers to trade in the US in the face of a muck-raking campaign by its opponents, according to reports.

Reuters reported that the Chinese telecoms equipment maker had set out its stance in a paper published ahead of its appearance at the US House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee.

In that report, Huawei apparently compared its treatment to McCarthy-era witch hunts and argued its ability to trade in the US had been hampered by a whispering campaign.

The Intelligence Committee has undertaken a year-long investigation in to security threats allegedly posed by Chinese technology vendors, including Huawei and ZTE.

Rumours have long persisted that Chinese firms have included backdoors into their products, which would allow Chinese spies to snoop on Western customers. 

Huawei has dismissed such suggestions as unfounded “allegations based on allegations” according to Reuters.

The UK has taken a slightly more relaxed approach to Chinese technology firms, with Huawei believed to supply a significant proportion of BT's technology and EE's mobile phone networks.

However, there is still a degree of distrust within Whitehall.

Huawei's appointment of former government chief information officer John Suffolk to head up its security practice, ruffled a few feathers in government, and forced the Cabinet Office to seek assurances from Suffolk about his role.

Huawei had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

The complaints are not the first time the firm has sounded off about its treatment at the hands of the US, with the firm's chief legal officer making similar complaints in 2011 during an interview with V3.