Visa curbs on tech employees ‘bluff to win votes’
The Trump administration Wednesday announced plans for new visa restrictions on employees of Chinese technology companies including Huawei, another move that will intensify strained bilateral ties in a bid to win voters in November, analysts said.
The move also shows how the US is politicizing business issues to thwart Chinese technology companies like Huawei.
The US “will impose visa restrictions on certain employees … of Chinese technology companies like Huawei,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at a State Department press briefing Wednesday. Pompeo did not elaborate who would be targeted or how many people would be affected.
The US has sanctioned Huawei for “violating human rights,” while the US is now the world’s largest human rights violator, Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, told a regular press conference Thursday.
“The US’ accusation of human rights violations in China is the biggest lie of the century, and the American people should be saddened by their officials who are liars,” Hua said.
Huawei said that the visa restrictions would be “unfair and arbitrary action”, noting that Huawei is independent from the Chinese government, and is fully “private and employees-owned” technology company.
“We are disappointed at the restrictions on Huawei employees who make unremitting efforts to contribute to technological innovation in the US and around the world,” Huawei said in a statement.
The Trump administration is bluffing and wants to play more China cards in a bid to win American voters in the November election, which is expected, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, who closely follows the China-US trade, told the Global Times Thursday.
Opinion polls show that US President Donald Trump is trailing his Democratic challenger Joe Biden ahead of November’s election.
“Such sanctions are a show to American voters rather than having any real meaning and impact. Just ask yourself: Who will go to the US amid the worsening pandemic now?” Gao said.
In addition, an insider told the Global Times that most of Huawei’s employees in the US have already returned to China, given Washington’s relentless crackdown on the company.
The announcement came a day after Trump said Tuesday that he had signed legislation to impose sanctions on China over the new national security legislation for Hong Kong.
“China should be prepared for more ‘extreme pressure’ and ‘attention-grabbing’ actions from the current US government ahead of their November election,” said Gao.
China will announce countermeasures accordingly, at the right time and with the right strength, Gao said.
A view of Huawei’s exhibition stand during the World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, East China’s Zhejiang Province in October 2019 Photo: Zhang Hongpei/GT
