Ambassador Zhang Ming, Head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union, said that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claims that Huawei undermines cybersecurity are unfounded and his disinformation campaign against China and Chinese companies is politically motivated.  

In response to an op-ed in POLITICO by Pompeo, Zhang wrote in a letter to the editor published Wednesday that claims about Huawei were "a far cry from the truth." 

Screenshot of the letter published in POLITICO.

The following is the full text of the letter.

China's 5G tech is not a threat to Europe

In his opinion piece "Europe must put security first with 5G" (December 2), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo piled on to his disinformation campaign against China and Chinese companies, trying to win the hearts and minds of Europeans with a long list of false claims. It is the latest example of the top U.S. diplomat upping the ante to sling mud on China.

Pompeo’s arguments against Huawei are a far cry from the truth. Despite the witch hunt and media hype, not a single country or individual has come up with solid evidence to prove that Huawei poses a security threat.

As German daily Der Tagesspiegel reported in May, the U.K. government, Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security and the European Commission all failed to find any backdoor in Huawei. While Pompeo attacks the Chinese Communist Party and proudly claims the moral high ground, he forgets about the NSA's notorious PRISM surveillance program and the wiretapping of America’s closest allies.

Pompeo’s efforts undermine the concept of national security. He is taking advantage of growing public consciousness of technology security to promote his own political agenda. If Pompeo’s logic stands, even a bottle of wine produced in a country with a different political system could be poisonous. In that case, we cannot help but ask: Is it security first or America first?

Everybody agrees that security is of paramount importance as new technologies mushroom. There are now ongoing efforts worldwide to enhance the security of 5G technology. The future 5G network is so integrated and interlinked that decoupling would lead to nowhere. To build a safe, open, transparent and healthy 5G ecosystem, it's imperative that we cooperate in a spirit of mutual trust.

Europe takes pride in multilateralism and upholds open markets. It is my hope and belief that Europeans will stand by the principles of fairness, justice and non-discrimination. The 5G era will be about connectivity and openness. Let’s opt for cooperation rather than confrontation.

Zhang Ming

Head of the Chinese Mission to the EU

Brussels, Belgium