The Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) is probing lobbying operations of the Huawei office in Brussels, Politico reported on Tuesday citing confidential documents and three anonymous sources
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th March, 2023) The Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) is probing lobbying operations of the Huawei office in Brussels, Politico reported on Tuesday citing confidential documents and three anonymous sources.
According to the sources, Belgian intelligence wants to find out whether there are direct information exchange channels established between the Chinese government and the tech giant's Brussels office. Huawei representatives who could have worked in Brussels institutions with access to EU contacts are of special interest to the security officers, the magazine said.
In recent months, the VSSE has requested interviews with former staff members of Huawei lobbying offices located in the very center of Brussels' European district: one residing between the European Parliament, European Commission and the Council of the EU buildings, and the other in close proximity to the US embassy, Politico reported. The investigation is conducted to ascertain how non-state actors such as Huawei lobbyists may be used by the Chinese government and the Communist party to promote their interests in Europe, the sources said, as quoted by Politico.
Talking to Politico, the Huawei spokesperson said the company was unaware that its Belgian employees had been interrogated by the VSSE. Huawei has repeatedly stressed its commercial attitude and independence from China's state affairs. The company also stated indifference to its workers' political or religious beliefs, meaning all staff are treated equally. When asked about the Chinese government's legal requests, the spokesperson referred to the FAQ page on the Huawei website stating that the company "has never received such a request and we would categorically refuse to comply if we did," Politico said.
The scrutiny of Huawei's lobbying processes in Belgium was instigated amid EU leaders' growing concern about European politics being influenced by foreign states, the Chinese government operating through state-linked companies in particular. In 2022, the so-called Qatargate scandal broke out, exposing the corruption links between some Belgian, Italian and Greek current and former members of the EU Parliament and the governments of Qatar, Mauritania and Morocco. As for blocking the alleged Chinese influence exercised via companies, using TikTok app on work phones has been progressively banned over recent months by the governments of the US, Canada, several European countries and of the EU structures.
