Trump says Huawei dispute could be solved 'as part of trade talks' with China despite national security threat claims
Donald Trump has claimed that his dispute with Huawei could be resolved through trade talks, despite repeated accusations that the Chinese tech firm poses a national security risk.
Huawei has said the US president’s attacks are motivated by a desire to advance American economic interests and have nothing to do with national security. Washington claims Huawei could use its network equipment to spy on US citizens.
Asked on Monday whether Huawei was in fact a ”chess piece” to be used in talks with Beijing, the Mr Trump said the situation could be fixed “as a part of trade negotiations”, apparently undermining his previous national security argument.
During a phone call to CNBC’s Squawk Box, Mr Trump threatened China with additional tariffs if Xi Jinping doesn't meet with him at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, this month. But Mr Trump said he expects the Chinese premier to attend.
Mr Trump called into the show after the US Chamber of Commerce criticised him for using the threat of tariffs to force Mexico to stem the flow of migrants across its northern border.
“They have to start representing the United States, not just the companies that are members of the US Chamber of Commerce,” said Mr Trump.
The outburst came after news that Mr Trump’s acting budget chief is reportedly pushing to delay implementing parts of a law that restricts the US government's business with Huawei.
According to the Wall Street Journal, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent a letter to the vice president and nine members of Congress, urging them to postpone parts of the law that would effectively ban the tech giant from doing business in the US.
“While the Administration recognises the importance of these prohibitions to national security,” Mr Vought's letter states, “a number of agencies have heard significant concerns from a wide range of potentially impacted stakeholders who would be affected” by the rules as written.
Last month China created a blacklist of “unreliable” foreign firms causing harm to Chinese interests in a move widely seen to be retaliation for Mr Trump’s decision to target Huawei.
China will set up a mechanism listing foreign enterprises, organisations and individuals that don’t obey market rules, violate contracts and cut off supplies for non-commercial reasons or severely damage the legitimate interests of Chinese companies, Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said.
That could include the likes of Google and Intel which have suspended their dealings with Huawei.
Huawei has been damaged by Google's decision to block it from using Android apps on its devices.
