US leaders seek to blacklist China’s Quectel on military ties

LEADERS of a US House panel on China asked the Biden administration to consider restricting access to capital for Quectel Wireless Solutions, saying the Shanghai-based maker of widely used internet-connection modules is tied to the country’s military.

Quectel is “a key supplier for numerous firms that the Department of Defence has already listed as Chinese military companies,” Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the panel’s top Democrat, said in a Jan 3 letter released on Thursday (Jan 4).

Quectel makes electronic modules that connect a wide variety of devices, from thermostats to cars to vending machines, to the internet. US officials have expressed concern the modules could be used to obtain data or shut down internet-connected devices.

“We are disappointed that members of the US Congress would sign a letter making false accusations about Quectel,” Norbert Muhrer, Quectel’s president and chief sales officer, said. “Our products are designed only for civil use cases and do not pose any threat to the national security of the United States. There is no basis to add Quectel to any US government restricted list.”

The lawmakers’ letter, addressed to Treasury and Defence Department leaders, asked for a briefing on whether Quectel should be added to a list of military-linked Chinese companies facing finance restrictions.

Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi had initially raised concerns months ago. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in August, the representatives claimed the company’s modules could track and sabotage Internet-connected devices. The FCC said the issue merited attention, and it asked for a review by federal agencies that assess potential threats posed by foreign technology. BLOOMBERG