Huawei, ZTE face US hearing

US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers suggested in a hearing Thursday that the expansion of China’s telecoms companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp (0736.HKG, 000063.SH) in the US could render the country vulnerable to espionage, The Wall Street Journal reported. Both Chinese companies are fighting allegations that include being in cohorts with the Chinese government, being vulnerable to government manipulation, and selling equipment designed to allow unauthorized access. Huawei has provided a number of small US carriers with telecom equipment while ZTE plans to enter the US market. “Our sources overseas have told us that there is a reason to question whether the companies are tied to the Chinese government or whether their equipment is as what it appears,” Rogers said. Huawei’s chief representative in the US, Charles Ding, said US concerns were “unsubstantiated.”