Router Photo: VCG

Seventeen US Republican Congressional lawmakers urged the US Commerce Department to prohibit further sales of equipment from wi-fi router maker TP-Link Systems Inc and claimed the company's so-called connections to China have led to concerns, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. 

The US lawmakers' call to ban TP-Link under false "cybersecurity" claims is another case of US politicians seeking to crack down on business ties with China under the guise of so-called security issues amid anxiety about the rise of Chinese technology, a Chinese expert said.

In a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday, the US lawmakers accused TP-Link of having deep ties to China and called the company a "clear and present danger," Bloomberg reported. 

The company has not responded to the Global Times' request for comment as of press time on Thursday. 

The company said on its official website that TP-Link Systems Inc is based in Irvine, California, and is the parent company for the global TP-Link business. It supplies both the consumer and enterprise markets globally, excepting the Chinese mainland. TP-Link Systems has split from and no longer has any affiliation with TP-LINK Technologies Co Ltd, which serves the Chinese mainland market. Despite having similar names, these companies have entirely different ownership, management, and operations, according to its official website.

This is just another case of US politicians making excessive associations and targeting China with so-called security issues, reflecting their anxiety about the rise of Chinese technology, Ma Jihua, a senior industry analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Ma said that in recent years, the US has continuously ramped up its crackdown on China in the areas of technology and cybersecurity, adding that while the US frames its actions as security-driven, deeper economic motives are at play, as it seeks to preserve its economic and technological dominance.

Chinese officials have previously slammed the US' reported plan to ban TP-Link.

"China opposes the US's overstretching the concept of national security and its discriminatory practices targeting particular countries and companies. China will take resolute measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies," Lin Jian, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said on December 19, in response to a question asking for comment on a report by The Wall Street Journal that the US was weighing a ban on a Chinese router manufacturer TP-Link over national security concerns.

"China will take resolute measures to safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies," Lin said at the time. 

Also on December 19, asked to a comment on the US' so-called national security investigation into TP-Link, China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian said that China has consistently opposed the US' suppression of Chinese enterprises under the guise of national security. 

Relevant investigations by the US should be objective and rational, rather than making a presumption of guilt out of nothing," He said at the time.

Global Times