US authorities must probe the upcoming sale of AT&T's Central European Media Group Enterprises (CME) to a Czech company with ties to China, Senator Marco Rubio said in a letter to the Treasury Department
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) US authorities must probe the upcoming sale of AT&T's Central European Media Group Enterprises (CME) to a Czech company with ties to China, Senator Marco Rubio said in a letter to the Treasury Department.
"I believe the Administration needs to conduct closer reviews of corporate deals like AT&T's sale of CME and understand how the Chinese government and Communist Party work through proxies like [Czech Republic] PPF. Failure to do so undercuts US diplomatic efforts aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party's political interference in foreign governments and societies," Rubio said in the letter on Wednesday.
The letter cited several examples that Rubio said indicate PPF group acts as a proxy for China, often in multinational deals that include Huawei. Huawei is banned by the US due to allegations that Huawei equipment is built to provide back-door access for Chinese intelligence.
Rubio cited PPF-owned telecommunications firms in Serbia that are working with Huawei to develop 5G networks.
In addition, PPF's cell phone operator and telecom equipment provider in the Czech Republic run on Huawei equipment, the letter said.
Rubio is Cochair of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), as well as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.
