Scared of China: Telecom and U.S. National Security

In this day and age of intense partisan rancor in Washington, one thing that brings Republicans and Democrats together is their distrust of China. And one Chinese company that both the left and the right seem to love to hate is Huawei Technologies, the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world.

Just in October, the House Intelligence Committee released a report warning the U.S. government and private companies against doing business with Huawei. The Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Committee  pointed out that Huawei can insert malicious hardware or software implants into its equipment, and allow the Chinese government to wage cyberwarfare, conduct economic espionage, and disrupt U.S. telecom networks that affect everything from electric power grids to banking and finance systems to rail and shipping channels.

Mr. William Plummer, Vice President of External Affairs at Huawei, disputes the accusations against Huawei and talks about the company's relationship with the Chinese government, the vulnerabilities of the global telecommunications supply chain, and the politics of the U.S.-China relationship.