Biden, Bloomberg, Warren: No Chinese Firms on US Infrastructure if President

Three Democratic 2020 presidential candidates said they wouldn’t allow Chinese companies to build critical U.S. infrastructure, during a Tuesday night debate. None of the three -- former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- specifically mentioned Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., reached a deal before the Presidents Day recess for the chamber to soon pass the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) by unanimous consent (see 2002130054). The House-passed bill would allocate at least $1 billion to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. The three candidates pivoted to other issues on China, including whether President Xi Jinping is a dictator. Bloomberg emphasized it’s important for the U.S. to push China to uphold trade agreements that bar the “stealing of intellectual property.” The FCC asked eligible telecom carriers Wednesday whether they use equipment or services from Huawei or ZTE (see 2002260010).