US bans China Telecom to operate over national security concerns

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved on Tuesday to terminate the licence of China Telecom’s to operate in the US over national security concerns. 

The FCC has given 60 days to China Telecom to stop its services in the country. The agency further stated that the company was "subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government requests and is highly likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight." 

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China Telecom, Chinese IT and communication services providers, having subsidiaries across the globe has been authorised to provide its services in the US for over 20 years.

The agency added that “China Telecom Americas’ ownership and control by the Chinese government raise significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing opportunities" for the company and the Chinese government "to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute US communications, which in turn allow them to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the United States.” 

The action comes in response to a proposal made by executive branch agencies during the Trump administration last year, and it is part of a larger push to limit Chinese ties to U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, WSJ reported.

In May, China Telecom, along with its rivals China Mobile Ltd. and China Unicom Ltd., lost their appeals to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, which was preparing to comply with an investment blacklist imposed by former President Donald Trump. 

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The Biden administration has upheld the Donald Trump period decision and committed to take a firm stance against China.

Earlier this year under a 2019 rule, the FCC identified five Chinese businesses, including Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co, and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co, as posing a danger to national security. 

With inputs from WSJ