US revokes China Telecom's license over national security concerns

 The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided on Tuesday to revoke the license granted to China Telecom to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.

The decision means that the Chinese company must now stop its services in the United States within 60 days.

China Telecom, one of the largest Chinese telecom companies, obtained a license to provide telecom services about 20 years ago in the United States, according to Reuters.

The commission said the company "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government, and is very likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests, without adequate legal process, and without being subject to independent judicial oversight."

It added that Chinese government ownership and control "poses significant national security and law enforcement risks by providing access, storage, disruption, and misdirection of US communications."

"The FCC's decision is disappointing. We plan to pursue all available options, while continuing to serve our customers," a company spokesperson told Reuters.

China Telecom provides telecom services to more than 335 million subscribers worldwide, claims to be the world's largest fixed-line and broadband operator, according to a Senate report, and also provides services to Chinese government facilities in the United States.

The US government said in April 2020, that the company provides mobile communication services to more than 4 million Chinese Americans, 2 million Chinese tourists who visit the United States annually, 300,000 Chinese students in American colleges, and more than 1,500 Chinese companies in America.

And last March, the committee classified "Huawei" among Chinese telecom equipment companies considered a threat to national security, disappointing the possibility of a softening of positions with the arrival of US President Joe Biden to power, according to AFP.

The committee considered that Huawei poses an "unacceptable risk" to national security, similar to ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology.

In a statement, the commission's interim chair, Jessica Rosenworsel, said, "Americans are more dependent than ever on our networks to work, study, or access health care, and we must have confidence in safe and secure communications."

This decision, in line with decisions made by the administration of former President Donald Trump, disappoints Huawei founder and chairman Ren Zhangfei, who, in February, called on the Biden administration to adopt an "openness policy". He has also stressed that his group can "continue" despite US sanctions.

Huawei has become a giant company, which is present in 170 countries, employs 197,000 people, and is at the center of a US-Chinese conflict, with a background of a trade and technical war, and suspicions of espionage, according to AFP.