China reacted Thursday to a news report accusing it of eavesdropping on President Trump’s cellphone conversations by suggesting he swap his Apple iPhones for handsets manufactured by the company’s Chinese competitor.
“If they are very worried about iPhones being tapped, they can use Huawei,” Hua Chunying, deputy director of the Chinese foreign ministry information department, said during a press conference, according to the government’s translation of her remarks.
The suggestion came in the wake of The New York Times reporting hours earlier that Mr. Trump has used a standard iPhone during calls with acquaintances, and that U.S. intelligence officials have assessed that his conversations have been intercepted by Russian and Chinese spies.
Switching from Apple to Huawei devices would likely do little to alleviate any eavesdropping concerns on the president’s part, however. Huawei products have previously been accused of posing major security risks, drawing scrutiny from the likes of the U.S. Department of Defense in addition lawmakers on either side of the aisle.
The Pentagon banned the sale of Huawei devices on U.S. military bases earlier this year, and critics on Capitol Hill who have raised concerns about the company include Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina Republican, and Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, the heads of the Senate Intelligence Committee, among others.
A representative for Huawei contacted by The Washington Times did not immediately comment on Ms. Hua’s remark.
Reacting on the eavesdropping allegations, Ms. Hua told reporters that The New York Times “should have known that releasing such kind of report would only add to evidence that it was fabricating fake news,” according to China’s transcript.
If the White House is not reassured, she added, “for the sake of absolute security, they may stop using all modern communications devices and cut themselves off from the outside world.”
Mr. Trump reacted to the eavesdropping allegations through his Twitter account Thursday, dismissing the report as “fake news.”
“I only use Government Phones, and have only one seldom used government cell phone. Story is soooo wrong!” he tweeted.
Russia, meanwhile, responded to The New York Times’ report without outright denying its claims.
“The newspaper probably has some detailed information on this subject that can be a justification for publishing such information,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, state-run media reported Thursday.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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