"President Donald J. Trump has named Robert Blair of Virginia as the Special Representative for International Telecommunications Policy", the release said on Monday.
The White House said Blair will lead the United States' efforts to promote secure and reliable global communications systems, including coordinating inter-agency efforts and serving as a liaison to industry, non-governmental and international stakeholders.
Robert Blair, the senior Mulvaney adviser who refused to testify in the House impeachment inquiry and is now wanted by Senate Dems, has been tapped by Trump to serve as a special rep for “international telecommunications policy.”
— Chris Sommerfeldt (@C_Sommerfeldt) December 23, 2019
Blair will continue on as a Mulvaney adviser. pic.twitter.com/orj1iGK9GI
The United States has been pushing European allies to shut out Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from helping them build 5G networks in the region, claiming that its equipment would come with "back doors" that would allow the Chinese government to spy. However, Germany, Norway, and some other European states still continued their business with the Chinese tech giant.
The US has accused Huawei of collaborating with the Chinese military and intelligence services and using its equipment for illegal surveillance, something that was vehemently denied both by the Chinese government and Huawei officials.
Huawei has protested the United States' efforts to restrict the company's business activities around the world.
