Rubio calls on Biden administration to blacklist Huawei spin-off Honor

Republican Senators led by Marco Rubio on Thursday called on the Biden administration to blacklist Honor, a former unit of embattled Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, describing the firm as a threat to national security. In a letter dated Thursday Oct. 14 seen by Reuters, Rubio described Honor as essentially an "arm" of the Chinese government with newly unfettered access the same prized U.S. technology currently denied to Huawei.

Republican Senators led by Marco Rubio on Thursday called on the Biden administration to blacklist Honor, a former unit of embattled Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, describing the firm as a threat to national security.

In a letter dated Thursday Oct. 14 seen by Reuters, Rubio described Honor as essentially an "arm" of the Chinese government with newly unfettered access the same prized U.S. technology currently denied to Huawei. The letter adds their voices to a growing chorus of China hawks calling for the blacklisting. By spinning off Honor, "Beijing has effectively dodged a critical American export control," Rubio wrote, in a letter signed also by Senators John Cornyn and Rick Scott. In November 2020, Huawei sold off its lower-end smartphone brand Honor.

"By failing to act in response, the Department of Commerce risks setting a dangerous precedent and communicating to adversaries that we lack the capacity or willpower to punish blatant financial engineering by an authoritarian regime." Honor, Commerce, Huawei and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)