(Recasts, adds detail, background)
WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will
work to safeguard American telecoms networks from "untrusted
vendors" like Huawei that threaten national security, the White
House said on Wednesday, offering some insight into its plans
for China's top telecoms equipment giant, long in Washington's
crosshairs.
"Telecommunications equipment made by untrusted vendors,
including Huawei, is a threat to the security of the U.S. and
our allies," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told
reporters in a daily briefing. "We'll ensure that the American
telecommunications network...do not use equipment from untrusted
vendors and we'll work with allies to secure their
telecommunications networks and make investments to expand
production of telecommunications equipment by trusted U.S. and
allied companies," she added.
Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Questions have swirled about how Democratic President Joe
Biden, who took office earlier this month, will handle Huawei.
The company has been accused by Washington of being capable of
spying on customers, as well as intellectual property theft and
sanctions violations. Huawei has denied wrongdoing.
Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, placed the
company on a trade blacklist and led a global campaign to
convince allies to exclude it from their networks.
The remarks come after Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo,
Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Commerce Department, raised red
flags among China hardliners in Washington on Tuesday by
refusing to commit to keeping Huawei Technologies on
the U.S. economic blacklist overseen by the agency.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose and Alexandra Alper in
Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)