The lawsuit is the latest twist in a legal and public relations battle taking place against the backdrop of the U.S.-China trade talks. | David Ramos/Getty Images Legal Huawei sues U.S. as legal war intensifies

Chinese telecom giant Huawei sued the U.S. government Wednesday night, asserting that Congress violated the Constitution last year when it barred federal agencies from using the company's technology.

Lawmakers shut out Huawei over fears that the Chinese government can tap the company’s wireless networking equipment to spy on Americans. But Huawei’s attorneys argue that Congress cannot single out a company that has not been found guilty of wrongdoing.


The lawsuit — filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, home to Huawei’s U.S. headquarters in Plano — is the latest twist in an escalating legal and public relations battle taking place against the backdrop of the U.S.-China trade talks.

“The U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products,” Guo Ping, the company’s rotating chairman, said at a news conference in Shenzhen, China. “After exhausting all other means to allay the doubts of some U.S. lawmakers, we are left with no choice but to challenge the law in court.”

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In a 54-page complaint, Huawei contends that Congress overstepped its constitutional authority in penalizing the company and has impeded its ability to do business with private-sector firms in the U.S.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington have long warned that Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE pose a threat to U.S. national security, citing their ties to the Chinese government. Last year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers included a provision in a defense policy bill to bar federal agencies from purchasing the companies’ technology or contracting with firms that do.

The congressional move came amid accusations that the White House was putting its China trade agenda above U.S. security concerns. A few weeks earlier, at President Donald Trump’s insistence, the Commerce Department lifted a ban on ZTE for violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea, instead imposing a $1 billion penalty and requiring the company to change its management team.

Since then, U.S. officials have mounted an international effort to persuade other countries to restrict their use of Huawei and ZTE technology, particularly as they build out powerful 5G wireless networks. The U.S. campaign has triggered a global crisis of trust for Huawei, which contends that it operates independently of the Chinese government and that its equipment is trustworthy.

“The U.S. government has never provided any evidence supporting their accusation that Huawei poses a national security threat,” Guo said. “Still, the U.S. government is sparing no effort to smear the company and mislead the public about Huawei.”

“Maybe the U.S. government incorrectly believes it would benefit from the suppression of Huawei,” Guo continued. “But the truth is restricting Huawei’s contributions to American and other nations’ 5G networks will only harm their national interests.”

Huawei’s lawsuit in Texas opens a new front in the expanding legal war over the company, which is playing out as the U.S. and China try to wrap up negotiations on a trade deal.

In January, the Justice Department announced a series of charges against Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou. Meng, who was accused of deceiving international banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, is under house arrest in Vancouver, Canada, as she fights an American extradition request.

China has detained multiple Canadian citizens inside its borders in what many see as retribution for Meng’s arrest. Meanwhile, Huawei itself pleaded not guilty in federal court in Seattle last week to U.S. charges of wire fraud and stealing intellectual property from wireless carrier T-Mobile. A judge set a trial in that case to begin in March 2020.

As the court action intensifies, Huawei has launched a public relations blitz in the U.S. to defend itself and improve its battered image.

The company last week sent an open letter to U.S. media outlets — distributed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington — telling journalists that “the U.S. government has developed misunderstandings” about Huawei and advising, “Don’t believe everything you hear.” Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, who is Meng’s father, also gave rare interviews to CBS News and BBC News in February, denying that his company had ever given backdoor access to Chinese intelligence services.

Trump himself muddied the waters over Huawei last month when he suggested to reporters that the charges against the company could become a bargaining chip in the China trade talks, comments that drew swift pushback from key lawmakers of both parties.

