Huawei Hit With Racketeering Charge in Expanding U.S. Case
- Chinese telecom giant won global standing by theft, U.S. says
- Case is one of the greatest tensions between D.C. and Beijing
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The U.S. raised the stakes in its battle with Huawei Technologies Co., using a law historically associated with prosecuting mafia figures to claim the Chinese company engaged in decades of intellectual property theft.
Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, and Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou had already faced criminal charges. The fresh allegations, announced Thursday, up the ante by including racketeering conspiracy, increasing the potential punishment. They come as the global battle for supremacy in fifth-generation wireless technology, or 5G, is joined.