Huawei has staunchly denied accusations that it stole US patents for its smartphone design and accused the US government of carrying out an “unscrupulous” campaign against its employees.
The Chinese technology giant was responding to a probe by the US Department of Justice into the alleged theft of smartphone camera patents from Portuguese inventor Rui Pedro Oliveira.
In a media statement, Huawei said it ”categorically rejects” the claims and accused Mr Oliveira of “taking advantage of the current geopolitical situation” in an attempt to extort money from the company.
Huawei has been caught up in an escalating trade war between the US and China and earlier this year it was placed on the US government’s so-called Entity List, which prevents US companies from doing business with the world’s second largest smartphone maker.
Huawei blamed this situation on the criminal investigation pursued by the DOJ on behalf of Mr Oliveira.
“For the past several months, the US government has been leveraging its political and diplomatic influence to lobby other governments to ban Huawei equipment,” the statement read. “Furthermore, it has been using every tool at its disposal – including both judicial and administrative powers, as well as a host of other unscrupulous means – to disrupt the normal business operations of Huawei and its partners.”
Methods that Huawei accused the US government of using to disrupt its business include instructing law enforcement to "threaten, menace, coerce, entice, and incite" current and former employees to turn against the company.
The US allegedly denied visas to Huawei workers, detained shipments at ports, and used undercover operatives to pose as Huawei employees to establish legal pretence for unfounded accusations against the company.
The US is also accused of launching cyber attacks against Huawei in order to infiltrate the firm's intranet and internal communication systems.
"None of the accusations levied by the US government have been supported with sufficient evidence," Huawei's statement concluded.
"We strongly condemn the malign, concerted efforts by the US government to discredit Huawei and curb its leadership position in the industry."
