Chinese Cloud Companies Such as Huawei May Constitute a Risk, According to US Official
On Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, expressed concern that Chinese cloud computing companies, including Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud, could potentially threaten U.S. national security. Raimondo pledged to examine a request made by nine Republican senators to add Huawei’s cloud unit, Alibaba Cloud, and other Chinese cloud service providers to the Entity List, which enforces U.S. export controls on foreign companies.
At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Raimondo highlighted that roughly one-quarter of the Chinese companies currently on the export control list were added during her tenure, and that additional threats are being investigated. She also acknowledged that the department requires extra resources to review export control issues as “the threats are real.” The Republican senators’ letter claims that Chinese cloud computing companies are “increasingly engaging with foreign entities” that could threaten U.S. national and economic security interests. Huawei and Alibaba have yet to comment on the request.
