Chinese tech giant Huawei took aim at the Trump administration on Friday, accusing the federal government of having a “loser’s attitude” and dismissing claims that its technology could be accessed by Chinese intelligence services.
Guo Ping, the company’s chairman, said Friday that the U.S. was attempting to make up false claims about his company due to an inability by U.S. tech firms to compete with its products, Reuters reported. Among other products, Huawei is the No. 3 manufacturer of smartphones in the world.
{mosads}“The U.S. government has a loser’s attitude. It wants to smear Huawei because it cannot compete against Huawei,” Guo said.
He reportedly added that he hoped the Trump administration would “adjust its attitude” in the future.
The comments come as Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer, remains detained in Canada, battling attempts by the Trump administration to extradite her to the United States for prosecution over allegations of violating trade sanctions with Iran.
Meng’s lawyers have argued that Canadian officials interrogated her without explanation while she was passing through customs.
“We are a country governed by the rule of law. Canada is conducting a fair, unbiased, and transparent legal proceeding with respect to the arrest of Ms. Meng Wanzhou,” Canada’s Office of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said earlier this month.
The Trump administration has banned government use of Huawei products, citing the security risk, and has urged foreign allies to do the same. This week, the European Union voted against a full ban of Huawei products but called for more scrutiny of security flaws in 5G phones.
The company claimed earlier this month that the Trump administration has been unwilling to meet with its executives to discuss security concerns.
“At this point, they’re not even willing to talk with us about the mechanisms recognized by the U.S. government to address cybersecurity risk,” chief security officer Andy Purdy told The Hill.
“The more we get to have the kind of requirements that are necessary to address the risks from all vendors,” he added. “Once that happens, there’s going to be a greater chance that Huawei can participate.”
Huawei is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the federal government over its ban on Huawei products and has consistently denied Trump administration charges that the company’s hardware can be accessed by Chinese intelligence firms.