Huawei, ZTE Deny US Accusations

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English.

Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE have pushed back against accusations that they present a national security threat to the United States. The companies are part of China's telecommunications industry. The House Intelligence Committee released a report on the issue last week. Committee chairman, Republican Congressman Mike Rogers, spoke about the year-long investigation that led to the report. He said, "The investigation concluded that the risks associated with these companies providing equipment and services to U.S critical infrastructure undermines the core U.S. national security interests." Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat, is a ranking member of the house committee.He said, "We already know the Chinese are aggressively hacking into our nation's networks, threatening our critical infrastructure." He also said, "the Chinese were stealing millions of dollars' worth of trade secrets and other sensitive information from American companies." The report warned American companies against doing business with Huawei and ZTE. It also called on The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to block any purchases, takeovers, or mergers involving the two companies. And it advised officials in the United States to ban the use of equipment from these companies in their systems. Both Huawei and ZTE released statements last week denying the claims in the report. They said it is an attempt to prevent Chinese companies from competing in the American market. Chinese officials also reacted to the report. China's Commerce Ministry called the report's findings untrue.For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 15Oct2012)