美国联邦调查局(FBI)日前展开了针对中国电信设备巨头中兴通讯的刑事调查,因怀疑後者向伊朗出售违禁的美国电脑设备,并且事後还试图加以掩盖并妨碍美国商务部的调查。
美国众议院情报委员会随后致信华为和中兴施压，要求两家公司披露内部运作资料，其中包括与中国政府、军方及央行的往来，以及五家咨询公司提供给他们的建议等资料。这五家公司包括IBM、埃森哲和普华永道等。
该委员会担心，华为和中兴的软件或硬件设备可能含有後门，能让他们侵入美国电信系统，或是破坏美国网络，就像报导所称美国和以色列对伊朗铀浓缩离心机发起的网络攻击那样。
该委员会主席、共和党人罗杰斯（Mike Rogers）和委员会高级成员、民 主党人鲁珀斯伯格（Dutch Ruppersberger）在致华为和中兴高层的信中称，正调查“可能与中国政府有关的公司对我们的关键基础设施和反情报工作构成的威胁”。
此外，他们还询问中兴在伊朗的业务。以调查他们是否对美国电信业构成安全威胁。中兴通讯若确实违法将美国电脑设备出售给伊朗,据"美国制裁伊朗法令"得处以交易金额两倍的民事罚款,罚金将达2.4亿美元或更多。在美国的运营也将受到限制。
路透社引用了网站Smoking Gun的报道，称中兴有一系列的产品包含在1.2亿美元合同中，包括由微软、惠普、甲骨文、思科和戴尔生产的软硬件产品。根据美国出口限制，美国公司不允许向伊朗出售此类设备。
Smoking Gun在其网站上公布了FBI一份机密证词的部分内容,该证词基於5月与中兴电讯旗下美国德州子公司总法律顾问Ashley Kyle Yablon的面谈.这些内容显示,Yablon告诉两名FBI特工,中兴通讯人员曾讨论过粉碎文件、窜改装箱单和否认是真品,试图破坏商务部对中兴通讯向伊朗出售美国设备的调查。
根据上述证词,商务部在路透报导後隔天对中兴通讯发出传票,索取伊朗合约及装箱单。
目前无法取得Yablon对此事的评论.FBI达拉斯办公室的发言人不愿置评,位於华盛顿的司法部发言人也不评论。
华为驻华盛顿发言人普拉默（William Plummer）称：“我们打算作出回应。”中兴发言人David Dai Shu通过电邮称，中兴致力於“保持透明、坦荡和配合”。
记者联系IBM、埃森哲和普华永道就他们向华为和中兴提供建议一事置评，三家公司均未回应。
美国司法部发言人周五拒绝对调查发表评论。致电美国商务部工业与安全局，即美国出口管制的实施部门也没有回应。该部门的网站上列出了数种针对非法出口技术至中国和伊朗的执法措施。
委员会没有回电话评价调查的进展。
同时，欧盟针对华为和中兴的调查集中于两家公司的非法补贴。据说由于反倾销事件的关系，欧盟在证据收集方面进展较慢。官员怀疑华为和中兴正在使用非法政府补贴，在欧盟以低于成本价的价格向服务提供商出售产品和设备，以更低的价格压倒竞争对手。
中国政府坚称这两家公司是清白的。上个月，中国称欧盟的说法“站不住脚”；上周中国威胁欧盟的调查，称将启动针对欧盟国家在中国进行商业活动的调查。北京引用了欧盟给予欧洲农业、汽车、可再生能源和电信公司的补贴费。
互相调查的可能性显示出经济、贸易和安全问题已经到了关键时候。美国和欧洲的看法是，中国的两大电信厂商是政府补贴的大头。国家安全的重要因素之一便是华为和中兴的设备可能包含一些暗入口，会让中国军方窃取到美国和欧盟的通信。
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：早有先例
相关阅读：
• 2012年华为中兴联想与酷派智能机出货均将破千万
• 平衡：华为在智能手机市场上的策略
• ‘公寓房’到‘高档小区’，中兴、华为积极布局高阶智能手机市场CMFesmc
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华为创始人和CEO任正非在1987年创立公司之前，是中国人民解放军的一名工程师。
这两家中国公司很清楚自己在西方越发严重的外界认知问题——既是政治也是营销问题——因为两家公司都面向全球市场。华为这周雇佣了美国军方合同商CSC的前网络安全战略家Donald Andy Prudy作为其首席安全官。根据《华盛顿邮报》，近年来，华为为改变其形象下了很大功夫，包括在华盛顿雇佣说客、顾问和公关公司。
根据Gartner的研究，中兴是中国第二大电信设备厂商，占全球
移动设备销售(单位：台)份额4.2%，排名全球第四，仅次于三星、诺基亚和苹果。
和私有且传统上更多专注于中国国内市场的华为不同，中兴是一家上市公司，在海外市场培养方面更有野心。然而近几年，华为和中兴在全球市场上的曝光都迅速增多。
惩罚前例
违法出口行为"被视为美国政策的优先事项,因此相关机构的执法权力已获得加强。他们正在检查及处理更多案件,"一名企业谘询律师Edward Rubinoff称。
这些有争议的交易活动通常不是武器,而是和平用途的产品.在3月及4月,在未获美国同意下,中兴通讯已经签下合约,向一家伊朗电信系统商交运价值数以百万美元计的硬件及软件。
在此之前,已有多家企业及个人面临惩罚。
荷兰ING上个月同意支付6.19亿美元,因为ING被控违反美国对伊朗及古巴的制裁措施,隐瞒在美国金融系统的逾20,000笔交易。每一笔交易都算是一次违法行为,提高了公司所面临的惩罚规模。
Allied Telesis Labs Inc的案子与中兴通讯有一些类似。美国政府2008年指控这家公司企图避开制裁措施,取得伊朗一笔9,500万美元电信合约。这家公司在联邦法院认罪,支付一笔50万美元刑事罚锾,遭判处两年缓刑。
美国政府要对外国公司行使司法权可能有困难,但相关当局仍有一些施力点。
如果对企业人员发出逮捕令,将使当事人无法前往美国或其他可能有遭引渡风险的国家。
如果一家外国公司的美国部门遭到起诉,则这个部门的业务将受限或结束。
或许更重要的是,遭到锁定的企业可能被列入某个黑名单,而使得这家企业与美国作生意的能力严重受限。举例来说,所有被列入"特别指定国民名单"者就完全遭到封锁。
"美国企业不会和你作生意。美国的银行不会和你往来,"华盛顿贸易法律师Eric McClafferty指出."这就是政府机关用来迫使非美国企业支付美国民事罚款的工具。"
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：参考英文原文：Investigators zeroing in on China’s ZTE, Huawei,by George Leopold, Junko Yoshida
相关阅读：
• 2012年华为中兴联想与酷派智能机出货均将破千万
• 平衡：华为在智能手机市场上的策略
• ‘公寓房’到‘高档小区’，中兴、华为积极布局高阶智能手机市场CMFesmc
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Investigators zeroing in on China’s ZTE, Huawei
George Leopold, Junko Yoshida
NEW YORK – With multiple investigations already underway in the U.S. and Europe targeting illegal sales to Iran by Chinese telecom giants ZTE and Huawei, reports surfaced in Friday (July 13) that the FBI is now probing whether ZTE sold U.S. computer equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. trade sanctions.
Citing a report on the Web site Smoking Gun, Reuters reported that a list of ZTE gear that was part of a $120 million contract included hardware and software made by Microsoft, HP, Oracle, Cisco, and Dell. The U.S. companies are not allowed to sell gear to Iran under U.S. export restrictions.
A Justice Department spokesman declined Friday to comment on the probe. Calls to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which enforces U.S. export controls, were not returned. The agency’s Web site lists several enforcement actions related to illegal technology exports to both China and Iran.
Separately, the House Intelligence Committee has been investigating possible threats posed to U.S. national security by ZTE and Huawei. Lawmakers are concerned that the Chinese government could access Huawei or ZTE telecom equipment and track phone calls and e-mails or hack U.S. networks and disrupt a communications. Among the subjects being considered in the congressional probe are questions about work the two Chinese companies have done in Iran and their funding arrangements with the Chinese government.
The committee did not return phone calls for comment on the status of the probes.
Meanwhile, European Union investigations into Huawei and ZTE are largely focused on illegal government subsidies to the companies. The EU is said to be slowly gathering evidence regarding an anti-dumping case. Officials suspect Huawei and ZTE are using illegal government subsidies to sell products in the EU below cost in a bid to trump competitors by charging lower prices for equipment being marketed to service providers.
China, however, has maintained that the companies are innocent. Last month, Beijing called the EU's claims "groundless." Earlier this week, China threatened to retaliate for the EU probes by launching its own investigation into the business dealings of EU countries in China. Beijing cited EU’s subsidies given to European agriculture, automotive, renewable energy and telecoms companies.
The possibility of dueling trade probes underscores a combination of economic, trade and security issues that are coming to a head. The view here and in Europe is that China’s telecom gear vendors are making the most of government subsidies. The key national security concern is that equipment from Huawei and ZTE might contain trap doors that would allow the Chinese military to spy on U.S. and European communications.
Huawei’s founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, was an engineer in the People’s Liberation Army before setting up the company in 1987.
Both Chinese companies appear to be well aware of the growing perception problems they face in the West– both political and marketing -- as they target global markets. Huawei said this week it had hired Donald “Andy” Purdy, former chief cyber security strategist at U.S. military contractor CSC, as its chief security officer. According to the Washington Post, Huawei in recent years “has mounted an aggressive effort to change its image. It has hired lobbyists, consultants and a public relations firm in Washington.”
ZTE, China’s second largest telecom equipment vendor, holds a 4.2 percent global market share in the worldwide mobile device sales (in units) to end users, and is ranked in the first quarter as the number four – after Samsung, Nokia and Apple , according to Gartner.
Compared to Huawei – privately held and traditionally more focused on China’s domestic market, ZTE is publicly traded and it has been more aggressive in cultivating business abroad. In recent years, however, both Huawei and ZTE have been rapidly growing their presence in the global market.
责编：Quentin
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