Trade barrier motivates U.S. Huawei, ZTE allegations

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the United States warns that two leading Chinese technology firms pose potential threats to its national security, an expert from a Chinese think tank has called this assertion "a barrier to trade."

"Technically or economically, it's impossible for Huawei and ZTE to place back doors deliberately," Fang Binxing, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, was quoted as saying by Guangming Daily on Wednesday.

"Back doors" refer to programs secretly inserted by developers, enabling attackers to install malicious software that could paralyze networks and allow hackers to gain entry into highly classified systems.

An 18-month White House-ordered review on Huawei, the world's second-largest maker of networking gear, indicated no evidence of Huawei espionage was found, but that it was still risky based on the presence of "back doors."

Fang said Huawei shares similar technology with Cisco in routers. As the world's leading maker of computer networking equipment, Cisco is able to find any back door without difficulty, if it exists.

"But now U.S. companies and government agencies fail to provide any evidence," Fang said. "How can they still claim Huawei and ZTE insert back doors in their products?"

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