BEIJING – Chinese government is not using its homegrown companies to gather military or political information of other countries, National People’s Congress (NPC) spokesperson Zhang Yesui said on Monday.
Talking to local and foreign media at the Great Hall of the People here, Zhang said the investments of Chinese firms, particularly technology companies, do not intend to be a threat to any country’s security interest.
“Chinese companies know that they have to abide local regulations in their own overseas operations. We will never and we will not ask Chinese companies to do anything against the law,” he added.
The spokesperson of China’s national legislature also noted that the country’s intelligence law has clear provisions to protect the lawful rights of people, including their data security and privacy.
“According to China’s National Intelligence Law, organizations and citizens have the obligation to cooperate with national intelligence work. At the same time, it also stipulates that intelligence work should be conducted according to law and in a way that respect and protect human rights and lawful rights of individuals and organizations,” he said.
Zhang also asked the international community to look at Chinese intelligence law “in full picture and not take anything out of context”.
Zhang added that he understands that many countries, such as the United States and some European countries have rolled out policies to safeguard national security. However, these policies should not be discriminating the entry of Chinese companies that want to invest in these countries.
The United States, Australia, and New Zealand have blocked the expansion of Huawei to 5G networks due to fears that the Chinese government is using the Shenzhen-based multinational telecommunications firm for espionage.
U.S. government officials have also urged European countries to ban Huawei’s 5G mobile technology.
