The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed criminal charges against Chinese telecoms manufacturer Huawei, which is accused of stealing trade secrets from US competitors. Huawei is facing 23 criminal charges, including accusations that it operated a rewards system for employees to incentivise the theft of trade secrets. The company is also alleged to have stolen robotic parts from T-Mobile US. The indictment comes amid growing tensions between the US and China over trade and alleged IP theft by Chinese companies. Chinese officials have labelled the charges as “unfair and immoral”. In a press conference in Beijing yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters that the charges were an attempt to “mobilise state power to blacken the names of and crack down on specific companies”. “We urge the US to stop its unjustifiable bashing on Chinese enterprises, including Huawei”, he added. Delegations from the American and Chinese governments are set to meet tomorrow, January 30, to continue talks over a new trade deal that could resolve the dispute. IP issues have reportedly proved a major stumbling block in the negotiations.

Source: WIPR