US expels another Chinese phone carrier on security grounds
In the midst of rising tensions with Beijing, Washington has barred another state-owned Chinese phone carrier from entering the US market due to national security concerns. In an order issued Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission revoked Pacific Networks Corp.'s authorization to provide domestic and international service. Because of possible spying and Beijing's military development, the US government is restricting Chinese access to American markets and investment. Pacific Networks could monitor or disrupt U.S. communications, according to the FCC, posing "significant national security and law enforcement risks." It stated that there were no steps that could be taken to eliminate those risks while the company was operating in the United States. President Joe Biden has expanded efforts begun by his predecessor, Donald Trump, to limit Chinese companies' access to U.S. technology, investment, and markets due to concerns that they pose security risks or aid in military development. In October, the FCC barred a unit of China Telecom Ltd., one of China's three main state-owned carriers, from entering the US market on similar grounds. The FCC announced in 2019 that it would revoke licences granted to China Telecom and another state-owned carrier, China Unicom Ltd, two decades earlier. It denied a licence application from China Mobile Ltd., the third carrier. In addition, the FCC cited unspecified "conduct and representations." A spokesman for China's foreign ministry accused American regulators of improperly invoking national security to harm Chinese companies without providing evidence that they violated any laws. According to the spokesman, Zhao Lijian, regulators are "abusing national power" to harm Chinese companies and "severely destroying international economic rules and harming the legitimate rights of consumers, including American consumers."