Upgrading Trade Transparency

Derek Scissors / November 08, 2010

AFP reported late last week that Sprint Nextel will not consider bids from two Chinese companies for large telecom contracts due to national security concerns expressed to Sprint Nextel by the American government. This is probably the right outcome, but it is the wrong way to achieve that outcome.

One of the Chinese companies, Huawei, has been much discussed as being closely tied to the People’s Liberation Army. The other, ZTE, is not directly tied to the Chinese military but it certainly has close links to the Chinese government, operating in a sector required by Beijing to be utterly state-dominated. (more…)