SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China “resolutely opposes” Washington’s revocation of China Telecom Corp Inc’s licence to operate in the United States, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In recent years, the United States has repeatedly sanctioned Chinese companies on the grounds of national security and disregarding facts,” the regulator wrote.
“This is an unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises by abuse of state power and a serious breach of international economic and trade rules,” it added.
MIIT urged Washington to reverse its decision.
Late last month the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to revoke the authorization for China Telecom’s U.S. subsidiary to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns. The decision means China Telecom Americas must now discontinue U.S. services within 60 days.
The U.S. government said in April 2020 that China Telecom targets its mobile virtual network to more than 4 million Chinese Americans; 2 million Chinese tourists a year visiting the United States; 300,000 Chinese students at American colleges; and the more than 1,500 Chinese businesses in America.
Soon after Washington’s decision, a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said that Beijing had issued a formal complaint about it.
In March, the FCC began efforts to revoke authorization for China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet to provide U.S. telecommunications services.
In May 2019, the FCC voted unanimously to deny another state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, China Mobile, the right to provide U.S. services.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Kim Coghill)
