Zeman: Beijing nixed meeting of ministers over Huawei warnings

President Miloš Zeman says Beijing cancelled a meeting between China’s foreign minister and his Czech counterpart in response to Czech warnings over Chinese-made Huawei technology. Speaking in a TV interview on Thursday evening, he said China had also postponed a meeting of an intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation without offering a new date.

However, a spokesperson for the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the intergovernmental committee meeting had been rescheduled and that this had been confirmed by Chinese officials.

The Czech cyber watchdog agency said last month that using Huawei or ZET products could prove a security threat. In addition, the country’s most important organisations have been ordered to carry out assessments of the risks involved in using such Chinese technology.

Mr. Zeman said he would like to meet the head of Huawei to clear the situation up during a visit to China in April.

Author: Ian Willoughby