China Telecom, the US subsidiary of the state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation, has filed a request asking the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not to revoke its authorisation to operate in the United States.
The company called the FCC's claims "unfounded" and said it should not revoke its license in the US "based solely on foreign policy concerns in the absence of any evidence whatsoever of specific misconduct".
In a letter on 2 June, the FCC alleged that China Telecom was trying to suppress certain information concerning the government's review of its authorisation status and asked the company to explain why it was seeking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) information obtained by the FCC.
Beijing called on Washington earlier in April to stop politicising economic issues and urged the US to "stop unreasonable pressure on Chinese companies", saying that it always makes sure that Chinese companies respect the laws of the countries in which they operate.