China demands FedEx account for undelivered Huawei package in new spat

[BEIJING] China on Monday called on America's FedEx to explain why a parcel from Huawei to the United States went undelivered, in the second spat between the companies in less than a month.

The ongoing tussle between the two firms comes as Beijing and Washington face off in a trade war in which both sides exchanging steep tariffs on hundreds of billions in exports.

IT publication PC Mag said on Friday a FedEx package with a Huawei phone inside that it had sent to the United States was returned to the UK.

An accompanying note explained a US government "issue" with China prevented the delivery.

FedEx apologised for the incident.

"The package in question was mistakenly returned to the shipper and we apologise for this operational error," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

"As a global company that moves 15 million shipments each day, we are committed to compliance with all rules and regulations and minimising impact to our customers as we adjust our operations to comply with a dynamic US regulatory environment."

The US logistics group is already under investigation in China for failing to deliver some of Huawei's parcels.

"This is not the first time FedEx has made a Huawei-related mistake," said Geng Shuang, spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"FedEx, as a large multinational company, should give a reasonable explanation to the outside world and be responsible for its own actions."

On Friday, a journalist at PC Mag sent out a tweet of a photo of a package along with a note reading: "Parcel returned by FedEx, due US government issue with Huawei and China government".

A May 16 executive order signed by US President Donald Trump effectively bars Huawei from the US market and restricts the Chinese company's ability to purchase US technology. On May 20, US officials delayed implementation of the measures for 90 days.

It is a big blow for the tech firm, which depends on Google's Android operating system for its phones as well as US electronic chips.

FedEx apologised at the end of May for "misrouting" a "small number" of Huawei packages but said no third party had asked the parcels be transferred.

The Chinese company said it would review its ties to FedEx following the incident.

China announced last month it would create its own blacklist of "unreliable" companies and individuals, which could target US and international firms that have cut off supplies to Huawei.

AFP