Huawei says CIA chief's spy claims were 'politically inspired and racist corporate defamation'

Chinese firm slams ex-CIA chief, and says 'put up or shut up'

Telecommunications giant Huawei has slammed claims made by a former US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief that it has spied for the Chinese government.

Ex-CIA head Michael Hayden told The Australian Financial Review that the Chinese firm supplies information to the Chinese government. He said that in his "professional judgement", the company shares "intimate and extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems it is involved with".

But Huawei has hit back, with its vice president of external affairs, William Plummer, telling those who are making such allegations to "put up or shut up".

"This is tired nonsense we've been hearing for years, trotted out anew as a flimsy bright and shiny object to distract attention from the very real compromising of global networks and information that has been exposed in recent weeks," the statement said.

"Misdirecting and slandering Huawei may feel okay because the company is Chinese-based - no harm, no foul, right? Wrong. Huawei is a world-proven multinational across 150 global markets that supports scores and scores of American livelihoods, and thousands more, indirectly, through $6bn a year in procurements from American suppliers.

"Someone says they got some proof of some sort of threat? Okay. Then put up. Or shut up. Lacking proof in terms of the former, which seems clearly the case, this is politically-inspired and racist corporate defamation, nothing more," it added.

Yesterday, the UK government confirmed it would review Huawei's Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (the Cell) at the behest of Parliament's Intelligence Security Committee to ensure the UK has the right measures and processes in place to protect its telecommunication networks.

Huawei has been in the spotlight over the past year for its alleged association with the Chinese government - a link that it has denied. This hasn't stopped a host of Western countries from suspending a number of contracts with the equipment provider, including Australia and Canada, while a US committee deemed the company a "national security threat".