China urges US not to politicise business dispute by probing Huawei

Beijing, Jan 17 (IANS) China on Thursday urged the US not to politicise a business case amid reports that the US Department of Justice was investigating Chinese company Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from its American partner.

Politicising this business case and using national mechanisms to persecute Chinese enterprises does not correspond with fair play rules and also goes against the laws, Efe news quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying as saying.

Hua was responding to media reports saying that the US prosecutors may press criminal charges against the Chinese telecom giant.

In an exclusive report, the Wall Street Journal cited sources close to the matter as saying that the theft allegations were related to a robot device used by telecom firm T-Mobile -- Huawei's trade partner in the US -- to test its smartphones.

The Chinese spokesperson said Huawei and T-Mobile had settled the dispute "through legal ways".

"We are concerned about the investigation and we doubt the true motives behind it," Hua said, adding that Chinese companies overseas followed market rules and international law.

"We hope the US can create a fair, competitive environment for the Chinese enterprises' operations in the US," she said.

The reported investigation comes in the backdrop of a diplomatic row between the US and China that was aggravated after Canada arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou at the behest of Washington.

Meng has been accused of committing fraud by violating US sanctions on Iran.