European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip attends the GovTech Summit at Paris city hall, France, November 12, 2018. REUTES/Charles Platiau
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union should be worried about Huawei [HWT.UL] and other Chinese technology companies because of the risk they pose to the bloc’s industry and security, the EU’s technology commissioner said on Friday.
“We have to be worried about these companies,” Andrus Ansip told a news conference in Brussels, days after a top executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei was arrested in Canada as part of an investigation into alleged bank fraud.
Huawei, which generated $93 billion in revenue last year and is seen as a national champion in China, faces intense scrutiny from many Western nations over its ties to the Chinese government, driven by concerns it could be used by Beijing for spying.
Ansip said he was worried that Chinese technology companies were required to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services.
He also said those companies produce chips that could be used “to get our secrets”.
“As normal, ordinary people we have to be afraid,” he said, adding he did not have enough information about the recent arrest in Canada.
Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter