Beijing Slams FCC’s Decision to Delist China Unicom

Following Washington’s decision to ban China Unicom from providing service in the U.S., Beijing has condemned the move as baseless, vowing to protect its operations’ “legitimate rights and interests” in the U.S. market.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a bold move to revoke the Chinese-backed telco’s license, prohibiting it from delivering further services in the country’s market.

On its part, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Telecommunications (MIIT) expressed its discontent with the decision, saying it profoundly dissents the move.

“The Federal Communications Commission adopted an Order ending the ability of China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States. The Order on Revocation directs China Unicom Americas to discontinue any domestic or international services Order,” the FCC’s statement said.

“First, the Order finds that China Unicom Americas, a U.S. subsidiary of Chinese state-owned enterprise, is subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government and is highly likely to be forced to comply with Chinese government requests without sufficient legal procedures subject to independent judicial oversight,” it added.

On Tuesday, the MIIT supported its disapproval of the decision by saying that the FCC failed to deliver factual proof supporting its claims, adding it generalized the concept of a national security threat to restrain Chinese businesses’ influence in the U.S. market.

The Chinese Ministry further added that the telco has been fully operational in the American market for almost 20 years and has always been a law-abiding organization and regulation, according to China Daily – state-run Chinese newspaper.

Beijing is calling out the FCC to withdraw its decision while submitting a “fair, just, nondiscriminatory” environment for any Chinese firm conducting business in the U.S.

In parallel, China Unicom Global released a statement on Thursday saying the FCC’s action cannot be justified, adding that its U.S.-based branch has a good compliance record with the country’s laws.

The statement also revealed that the governmental agency issued its order “without affording required due process.”

In late 2021, the U.S. government issued an order to delist three of China’s biggest telecom operators, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom Hong Kong, from the New York Stock Exchange.