New rules designed to keep US tech on top, says Huawei executive

[WASHINGTON] Restrictions introduced by Washington on Friday that ostensibly aim to allay US cybersecurity concerns are really designed to safeguard American dominance of global tech, a Huawei Technologies senior executive said Monday.

"The so-called cybersecurity reasons are merely an excuse," Richard Yu, head of the Chinese tech giant's consumer electronics unit wrote in a post to his account on messaging app WeChat. "The key is the threat to the technology hegemony of the US" posed by Huawei, he added.

Mr Yu also posted a link to a Chinese article circulating on social media with part of its headline asking, "Why Does America Want to Kill Huawei?"

On Friday, the US Commerce Department announced rules that prohibit any chipmaker using American equipment from supplying Huawei Technologies without special approval.

The Trump administration sees Huawei as a dire security threat, an allegation the company denies. Washington already blacklisted Huawei last year. The latest move tightens those restrictions to prevent chipmakers - US or foreign - from working with Huawei and its in-house chip-design unit HiSilicon.

BLOOMBERG