Heed US IT companies' threat to China's security

The United States is using its national security as an excuse to hinder the growth of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, two Chinese communication equipment producers, in the US market. In fact, the US government is protecting its national enterprises from competition with their Chinese counterparts, which hold many patents in communication-equipment production.

It is very difficult so far for Chinese enterprises related to network information security to enter the US market. In contrast, US companies are expanding fast everywhere around the world, including China. The Chinese have reasons to worry about China's informational security conditions too.

The fact is that many software, hardware and information services concerning China's national securities are controlled by US enterprises such as Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Past experience proves some of these enterprises have close relations with the US government and can be used as tools to defend and work for the US' national interests. But US politicians praise those enterprises as representatives of free trade and fair competition.

The Chinese government and enterprises should raise their awareness of the potential threat and damage to their IT service and equipment providers from the US. The legal and industrial authorities should pass laws and strengthen their regulation and supervision of the US companies' activities in China to defend China's national security too.

This is fundamentally different from US' protectionism and not a countermeasure to the US, but an overdue action in China to face new challenges from the information field.

China should increase its input in technological innovation, especially in the crucial fields concerning national security, to get rid of current reliance on US technology as soon as possible.

Translated by Li Yang from Guangming Daily