Huawei Technologies, a leading telecom equipment supplier, Friday slammed a former CIA chief's accusations against the company as "defamatory."

Former CIA chief Michael Hayden said in an interview with Australian paper Financial Review that Huawei had "shared with the Chinese state intimate and extensive knowledge of the foreign telecommunications systems it is involved with."

In a statement sent to the Global Times Friday, Huawei said, "These tired, unsubstantiated defamatory remarks are sad distractions from real-world concerns related to espionage - industrial and otherwise - that demand serious discussion globally."

William Plummer, Huawei's vice president of external affairs, said in a statement to The Verge that "Someone says they got some proof of some sort of threat? Okay, then put up. Or shut up."

Plummer also said that the accusation is "politically inspired and racist corporate defamation" because of Huawei's China heritage.

A US congressional investigation last October concluded that Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE Corporation pose a security threat to the US.

Besides the US investigation, the UK has also ordered a review of Huawei's Cyber Security Evaluation Center in Banbury, after a parliament report expressed concerns over the company's alleged relations with the Chinese government.

Despite the probe, the UK government Thursday said, "Our work with Huawei and their UK customers gives us confidence that the networks in the UK that use Huawei equipment are operated to a high standard of security and integrity," according to its website.

Huawei responded Friday in a statement sent to the Global Times that the company supports the decision by the UK government to review the center, which is used to test its products for potential vulnerabilities. "Huawei is open to new ideas and ways of working to improve cyber security," the company said.

"Huawei has been investing in the UK for 12 years, so the company for sure still wants to keep good cooperation with the UK government," Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry portal cctime.com, told the Global Times Friday.

"It can provide products of higher quality and lower cost compared with its competitors," Xiang said.