Top EU tech official still concerned about Beijing’s access to data from Chinese firms

The top official overseeing 5G technology policies for the European Union (EU) said on Wednesday he’s concerned that Chinese companies are legally bound to share information with the government’s intelligence apparatus back home – a stark example of the high-level resistance confronting Chinese officials as they fight Western attempts to block Chinese tech giants.

Andrus Ansip – one of the European Commission’s five vice presidents under president Jean-Claude Juncker – made the remarks in an interview with the South China Morning Post, just a day after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang disputed diplomatic concerns about industrial espionage.

Ansip highlighted the urgency for the EU to complete its assessment of potential security threats, as several member nations plan to issue licenses for 5G networks soon.

“Indeed, we will have to deal with risk assessment, and the need for action is now. Otherwise, it will be too late,” Ansip said. “This has an influence on our economy and our democracy.”

“Any vulnerability in 5G networks or a cyberattack targeting the future networks in one member state would affect the union as a whole,” he said.

While these concerns have been raised before, they have become a priority last year. Not only have nations begun to plan for their next-generation 5G communication networks, but the US has pressed its allies to keep Chinese tech companies out of their plans.

American officials fear that the Chinese government may force companies such as Huawei, a global leader in 5G technology, to incorporate software code or hardware that would let Beijing spy on the US or its allies and, perhaps, even disrupt a nation’s power and transport grids in a crisis.

Photo credit: Kārlis Dambrāns / Flickr

US President Donald Trump banned US government agencies from buying Huawei equipment last year, and US diplomats have pressured European countries not to grant Huawei contracts.

In an attempt to allay such concerns, Li in Brussels on Tuesday insisted that Beijing “has never requested, let alone imposed, any laws or regulations requiring Chinese enterprises overseas to […] conduct eavesdropping.”

Ansip, though, cited the specific Chinese law that troubled him.

“As far as we are aware, China’s 2017 national intelligence law includes broad requirements for all organizations and citizens to support, cooperate with, and collaborate in national intelligence work,” he said.

“There are no provisions about limiting the application of these requirements to not apply extraterritorially.”

Ansip also noted what he called a “general context of alleged large-scale espionage and intrusion activities by some entities in China” and called it a relevant concern for the EU.