Beijing backs Huawei in legal fight against United States for first time

BEIJING, Mar 8, 2019, SCMP. Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls on Chinese firms not to be victimised like ‘silent lambs’. Chinese government will take ‘necessary measures’ to protect legal rights, reported the South China Morning Post.

Beijing has for the first time thrown its support behind tech giant Huawei’s legal actions against Washington, and called upon Chinese companies not to be “silent lambs”.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took the opportunity to back Huawei at a press conference on the sidelines of China’s annual political meetings on Friday, a day after the company filed a lawsuit against the US government in a bid to overturn a federal ban on its equipment.

“We support the company and the individual in question in seeking legal redress to protect their own interests and refusing to be victimised like silent lambs,” Wang said.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer and daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Canada in December at the request of the United States.

An extradition hearing to the US is under way, where Meng and the company face a number of criminal charges, including bank fraud and theft of technology.

Wang called the US approach towards Meng and Huawei “by no means a pure judicial case, but a deliberate political move to bring them down”.

He also said the Chinese government would continue to take necessary measures to protect the legal rights of its citizens and companies.

“People can tell right and wrong, justice will prevail. What we are standing up for is not just the interest of a company but also a nation’s right to development, and by extension the basic right of all countries who wish to climb up the technology ladder,” Wang said.

“We hope all parties will follow rules, overcome prejudice, create a level playing field for all countries, and provide a safe environment for interactions for people of all nationalities.”