Huawei takes US to court, claims ban unconstitutional

A reporter who writes for Al Jazeera in Shenzhen was also approached by Huawei-connected headhunters with exactly the same offer.The US is pressuring other allies that are part of the Five-Eyes intelligence alliance - including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada - to ban Huawei products, urging them to bar Huawei from participating in the rollout of fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks in their countries.Bans on government use of Huawei products have already been issued in Australia and New Zealand since the US action.Huawei is also embroiled in a legal tussle over the December 1 arrest of Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou by Canadian authorities after an extradition request from the US over allegations of bank and wire fraud related to breaches of US-imposed sanctions on Iran.Meng is the daughter of Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, who recently said in a rare interview that the company would never share information with Beijing.Meng, who is on bail and living at her Vancouver home, appeared in court on Wednesday to argue against the extradition, saying the request was politically motivated. During the proceedings, they referred to US President Donald Trump's Twitter remarks in December when he alluded to dropping the extradition request if the US and China reached a trade deal. The two superpowers are currently conducting video-conference negotiations to reduce trade friction after Washington delayed a deadline to increase tariffs by 25 percent on about $200bn in Chinese products last week.Huawei, which insists it is a private company and not at the bidding of the government in Beijing, has also denied its equipment can be used for intrusion under Chinese cybersecurity and national security laws. But legal experts at global law firms who asked not to be identified said those laws do spell out how the government can compel telecommunications companies to open their systems for snooping.Chinese authorities have emerged as staunch defenders of Huawei.Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat and currently an analyst with Brussels-based international conflict monitoring think-tank Crisis Group, and Michael Spavor, a businessman and consultant, were arrested after Meng's arrest.