Chinese equipment vendor Huawei has rejected claims that it has received illegal subsidies from the Chinese government.
A few days ago, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission was poised to bring a case against Huawei and its…
Chinese equipment vendor Huawei has rejected claims that it has received illegal subsidies from the Chinese government.
A few days ago, the Financial Times reported that the European Commission was poised to bring a case against Huawei and its competitor ZTE next month after gathering evidence that the two companies benefited from illegal government aid and sold products in the EU below cost, also known as ‘dumping’.
In a statement today, Huawei said it denies “any claim that [it] employs dumping practices and has benefited from illegal state subsidies. Huawei also objects to the investigation that the European Commission is reportedly launching on the basis of these claims.”
The vendor added that it “has not received any communication from the European Commission regarding an investigation.”
ZTE could not be reached for comment before the press deadline.
The EU could decide to impose punitive tariffs on the vendors’ imports if the investigation finds that China has acted illegally.
Rumours of the two vendors benefiting from a competitive advantage through subsidies have circulated for almost two years now.
In September 2010, it had already been reported that ZTE and Huawei could be investigated by the EC following allegations that they both received funding from the Chinese government.
According to analysts cited by the Financial Times, European vendors that have investments in China – such as Ericsson, Siemens-Nokia, and Alcatel-Lucent – are concerned they might suffer retribution if the investigation against ZTE and Huawei goes ahead.
