US lawmakers' subpoena of Chinese telecom firms over security concerns a clear case of political manipulation: expert

Consumers experience 5G mobile phones at a business hall of China Mobile Beijing Branch in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 31, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

The leaders of a US congressional committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to China's three telecom giants demanding their cooperation in an investigation into alleged ties to the Chinese military and government, according to letters obtained by Reuters.

Chinese analysts believe that the US lawmakers' actions to discredit Chinese companies under the pretext of security concerns violate fundamental market principles. They view this as a clear example of political manipulation as they view Chinese companies' development as a threat to their dominance in the industry.

According to Reuters, the House of Representatives' Select Committee on China exercised its rarely used subpoena powers to compel China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom to answer questions about whether they could exploit access to American data through their US cloud and internet businesses."

The US targeting of Chinese telecommunications companies epitomizes what we've been seeing in recent years -Washington's practice of imposing "pan-securitization" against perceived adversaries, Xiao Junyong, executive director of the Center for Si&Tech and Human Rights Studies of Beijing Institute of Technology, told the Global Times on Thursday.

This approach involves designating specific sectors or industries, then using national security as a pretext to restrict enterprises from other countries or regions from normal business operations in these fields, even without evidence that such activities threaten US security, Xiao said.

This is not the first time that the US has targeted Chinese telecommunications operators.

In June 2024, Reuters reported that the US was investigating China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom over concerns the firms could exploit access to American data through their US cloud and internet businesses by providing it to Beijing.

The Reuters also noted that there was "no evidence the companies intentionally provided sensitive US data to the Chinese government or committed any other type of wrongdoing."

The rapid development of Chinese telecommunications has been viewed by the US as a threat to its dominance in setting industry standards, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday, explaining the reason behind the US' continuous smears and hypes over the Chinese telecom's operations in the US.

"Such actions clearly deviate from market principles, representing a textbook example of using political power to forcibly distort established market rules," Li said.

Xiao believed the move reflects its broader US policy direction, marked by anti-globalization sentiment and trade protectionism.