China congratulated Huawei for suing the US and refusing to be 'silent lambs'

Reuters

China's foreign minister Wang Yi

• China's foreign minister congratulated Huawei for suing the US government and for not acting like 'silent lambs.'
• Wang Yi's comments came a day after Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US over the government's ban on using its technologies.
• Wang said Huawei's treatment, and the arrest of its CFO Meng Wanzhou, was tantamount to political suppression.
• Wang's remarks may not help Huawei's case that it does not have close ties to the Chinese government.
• Huawei said it didn't consult any government before filing its suit.

China's foreign minister has openly sided with Huawei after the mobile firm filed a lawsuit against the US government on Thursday.

Foreign minister Wang Yi said during a press conference on Friday that US government action against Huawei and its CFO Meng Wanzhou constituted "deliberate political suppression", according to a translated version of his remarks.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Raising his fist emphatically, he continued: "We support relevant companies and individuals to take up legal weapons to safeguard their rights and interests, and not be silent lambs."

Read more:Here's why the US is terrified of one Chinese company controlling the world's 5G networks

Wang's remarks come as Huawei is desperately trying to prove that it is not a pawn of the Chinese government.

The firm is suing the US government, arguing that a ban on its equipment violates the constitution. US president Donald Trump signed a bill last August banning the use of Huawei and ZTE technology by the US government and contractors.

Huawei also argued that the US is damaging its reputation, with government officials accusing the firm of potentially putting backdoors into its equipment to allow the Chinese government to spy on other nations.

Huawei said the US government has provided no proof of these claims, and has repeatedly said it has never built backdoors into its kit.

The US took its lobbying efforts international earlier in March, when its top cyber official Robert Strayer appeared at the mobile industry's flagship conference in Spain and spoke forcefully about "deceitful" and "duplicitous" Huawei. "We have substantial concerns about them," Strayer said at the time."We are constantly talking to other governments about this."

Meng, Huawei's chief financial officer, is currently detained in Canada and awaiting extradition to the US on charges of violating trade sanctions against Iran.

"China has taken and will continue to take all measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate and lawful interests of Chinese business and citizens," said Wang.

Huawei said it didn't consult the Chinese government before filing its lawsuit. "Huawei is an independent commercial business and did not consult any government before filing the lawsuit," a spokesman told the Wall Street Journal.