Huawei sues US government over tech contracts ban

The Chinese technology firm Huawei is taking the US to court after it was banned from bidding for some government contracts.

The biggest global maker of network equipment for phone and internet companies is regarded by the US and several other countries as a security risk and is is at the centre of US-Chinese tensions over technology competition and cyber-spying.

Huawei said it filed a lawsuit asking a federal court in Plano, Texas, to throw out a portion of this year's US military appropriations act that bars the government and its contractors from USing Huawei equipment.

The ban is "based on numeroUS false, unproven and untested propositions," said Song Liuping, the company's chief legal officer, at the news conference.

"Huawei has an excellent security record and programme. No contrary evidence has been offered."

Huawei has about 40% of the global market for network equipment and is at the forefront of the race to role out 5G.

But its share of the US virtually disappeared after a congressional panel in 2012 cited the company as a security risk and told phone carriers to avoid dealing with it.

Washington is also trying to persuade its allies to limit Huawei's access to markets.

Image:Meng Wanzhou is fighting extradition to the US

The tension between the US and China over the company increased last year when US prosecutors filed charges accUSing Huawei of stealing trade secrets and its chief financial officer of lying to banks about dealings with
Iran.

Meng Wanzhou, who is the daughter of the company's founder, was arrested on December 1 by Canadian authorities and is fighting a US extradition request.