BEIJING (Dispatches) – Chinese telecoms equipment company Huawei plans to announce a lawsuit against the United States government on Thursday on grounds related to a defense bill, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Huawei is preparing to announce that it is suing the U.S. government in a court in Texas by challenging an addition to the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed last year, according to the source.
The new NDAA act, which Beijing had condemned as targeting China, controlled U.S. government contracts with Chinese companies including Huawei and strengthened the role of the panel that reviews foreign investment proposals.
The New York Times first reported Huawei’s planned legal move on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Such a move would be the latest in a series of responses from the Chinese company as Washington tries to persuade allies to ban Huawei from business alleging espionage risks. Huawei has repeatedly denied the claims.
On Sunday, lawyers for Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou sued the Canadian government, its border agency and federal police, alleging their client was detained, searched and interrogated for three hours in violation of her constitutional rights.
China also accused detained Canadian citizen Michael Kovrig of stealing state secrets which were passed on to him from another detained Canadian, Michael Spavor, in what is likely to further ramp up tension between Ottawa and Beijing.
Businessman Spavor, who worked with North Korea, and former diplomat Kovrig were picked up in early December, shortly after Canada arrested Meng, who faces extradition to the United States.
China has repeatedly demanded Meng be released, and reacted angrily last week when Canada’s government approved extradition proceedings against her.
In a short statement on its microblog, the ruling Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission said Kovrig had often entered China using an ordinary passport and business visas "stealing and spying on sensitive Chinese information and intelligence via a contact in China”.
Kovrig severely violated Chinese laws, and China will start the next judicial proceedings in due course, it said.
"China is a country with rule of law and will firmly crack down on criminal acts that severely undermine national security.”
Canada says China has made no specific link between the detentions and Meng’s arrest.