Biden passes law to tighten US restrictions on Chinese Huawei and ZTE

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The President of the United States, Joe Biden, signed legislation this Thursday (11) to prevent companies considered threats to US security, such as the Chinese Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, from receiving new licenses from the US regulatory authorities to their equipment.

The Safe Equipment Act, which represents the US government’s latest effort to crack down on Chinese telecommunications and technology companies, was passed unanimously by the US Senate on Oct. 28 and earlier this month by the House in a vote with a scoreboard from 420 to 4.

Biden’s sanction comes days before US President and China leader Xi Jinping held a virtual summit likely on Monday. Reuters said the meeting is expected to take place amid tensions over trade, human rights and military activities.

The new law says the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will not review or approve any application for authorization for equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the commission has approved more than 3,000 applications for authorization from Huawei since 2018. The law “will help ensure that unsafe equipment from companies like Huawei and ZTE can no longer be inserted into the communication networks of the United States,” said Carr.

In March, the FCC designated five Chinese companies as a threat to national security under a 2019 law designed to protect US communications networks.

The companies named previously included Huawei and ZTE, as well as Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology.

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