Beijing calls on Chinese firms not to be ‘silent lambs,’ vows protection amid Huawei row

Beijing has promised to take “all necessary measures” to defend Chinese companies and citizens who are under “deliberate political suppression” abroad amid legal clashes between tech giant Huawei and Washington.

“We support the company and individual in question in seeking legal redress to protect their own interests and refusing to be victimized like silent lambs,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated on Friday. He referred to the ongoing Huawei row in the US and Canada’s arrest of a Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.

The statement comes one day after the company filed a lawsuit against the US government in a bid to challenge the decision to ban federal agencies from using its equipment.

The top Chinese diplomat also said that the country is to use “all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard” the rights and interests of its enterprises and citizens.

“Recent actions against specific Chinese enterprises and individuals are not simply judicial cases, but deliberate political suppression,” Wang stressed.

The crackdown on Huawei-made equipment has been ongoing for several months as Washington claims that the Chinese government might use Huawei’s technology for spying, and has already barred US government agencies from using the firm’s products. The US has also been trying to press its allies to impose restrictions on the world’s leading telecommunication equipment supplier, citing cybersecurity risks.

In December, Canadian authorities arrested Huawei’s chief financial officer at the request of the US. The woman is accused of circumventing sanctions against Iran, and Canada has recently announced that it formally started an extradition process to the US. Meanwhile, the CFO filed a lawsuit against the country’s border agents and police, accusing them of an unlawful search and interrogation.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section