The new legislation will help ensure that insecure equipment from those two Chinese companies can no longer be inserted into US communications networks.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, signed a law on Thursday to prevent companies such as Huawei Technologies Co or ZTE Corp, which are considered threats to the country’s security, from receiving new licenses for equipment from US regulators.
The Safe Equipment Act, the latest attempt by the US government to crack down on Chinese telecommunications and technology companies, was passed unanimously by the US Senate on October 28 and the House earlier this month of Representatives of the United States with a vote of 420 to 4.
The signing comes days before Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold a virtual summit. The meeting will take place amid tensions over trade, human rights, and military activities.
The new law requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to no more comprehensive review or approve any application for authorization for equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the commission had approved more than 3,000 Huawei applications since 2018. The law “will help ensure that insecure devices from companies such as Huawei and ZTE can no longer be integrated into Huawei’s communications networks.” The car said.
In March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as a threat to national security under a 2019 law protecting US communications networks.
Nominees include Huawei and ZTE and Hytera Communications Corp., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Included.
In June, the FCC voted unanimously in favor of moving forward on a plan to ban equipment approvals on the US telecommunications networks of these Chinese companies, even as lawmakers sought legislation to require it.
In June, the FCC vote opposed Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Xiao Lijian said in June that “the United States continues to abuse national security and state power to suppress Chinese companies without any evidence.”
Under the proposed rules that got initial approval in June, the FCC could also revoke prior equipment authorizations issued to Chinese companies.
In June, Huawei called the FCC’s proposed review “misguided and unnecessarily punitive. “
Last month, the FCC voted to revoke authorization for China Telecom’s US subsidiary to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.
