In Washington, leaders of a U.S. House of Representatives committee have urged top Chinese telecom firms to disclose any connections to the Chinese military and government, citing national security concerns related to their operations in the United States. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the leading Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, along with committee chair Republican John Moolenaar, have requested China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom to provide responses to a set of inquiries by March 31, as per letters reviewed by Reuters on Friday.
The lawmakers expressed worries that these companies could potentially exploit their presence in the U.S., particularly in cloud computing and internet services, to gain unauthorized access to American data and share it with Beijing. Referring to a 2024 Reuters report on a Commerce Department investigation, they highlighted the risks posed by China Telecom’s activities in the U.S., warning of possible data breaches, espionage, or sabotage facilitated by the Chinese Communist Party.
The letters emphasized the urgency of addressing the firms’ documented ties to Chinese intelligence, given the Chinese government’s aggressive cyber attacks on American telecommunications networks. Despite requests for comments, the companies have not yet responded to the lawmakers’ inquiries.
The correspondence reveals growing bipartisan apprehension regarding the Chinese telecom companies’ activities in the U.S. following recent high-profile cyber attacks on American telecommunications infrastructure. The letters reference incidents like Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, attributed to Chinese entities, which compromised sensitive data of millions of American citizens. While Beijing has denied involvement in these cyber campaigns, concerns persist about the security implications of allowing Chinese telecom firms access to American data through their cloud services and internet routing capabilities.
Over the years, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom have faced scrutiny in Washington, leading to the denial of China Mobile’s application to offer telecommunications services in the U.S. in 2019, and the revocation of China Telecom and China Unicom’s authorizations in subsequent years. Despite regulatory actions, the lawmakers noted that current regulations do not prevent Chinese telecom companies from providing cloud services and routing U.S. internet traffic, potentially exposing Americans’ data to security risks.
The situation underscores the ongoing challenges faced by U.S. policymakers in managing national security risks associated with foreign telecom companies’ operations in the country.
