Communist China's telecommunications firm backed by the Chinese military has continued to scale-down its operations in Australia.

The Australian operation of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said it would continue to cut staff numbers and investment in the country.

In 2018, Australia banned Huawei from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the company criticised as being politically motivated.

In simple terms the 5G ban on Huawei has cost us 1,000 high-tech and high-wage jobs from the economy, Jeremy Mitchell, Huawei's chief corporate affairs officer for Australia, said in an emailed statement.

We have gone from 1,200 staff to fewer than 200 and by next year it will be lower still, Mr Mitchell concluded. The Australian Financial Review first reported the comments.



Chinese telcos spying instrument for Beijing

The exit of Huawei will prevent Australians from losing their intellectual property and private data.

In February Mr John Demers, US assistant attorney general for national security revealed that Communist China's national intelligence law requires Huawei and all Chinese companies "to comply with the mandates of the security and intelligence services."

In practice, the attorney explained, the Chinese telecommunication companies are spying instruments for Beijing regime.

"We are so concerned about a lack of trust when it comes to the behaviour of Chinese companies and the Chinese government itself," said Demers, whose division has brought dozens of cases involving intellectual property theft on behalf of China.

"What our cases have illustrated is a persistent, well-orchestrated, very top down, well-resourced effort to steal American and European intellectual property and the data of its citizens."

China, he said, is engaged in "outright state-sponsored, state-directed theft."

Another US top official, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien stated that the US authorities "have evidence that Huawei has the capability secretly to access sensitive and personal information in systems it maintains and sells around the world".

Protection Against Beijing telcos

The Western governments, including the United States, France, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Poland, South Korea and Taiwan responded to the threat of Huawei, ZTE and other Beijing telcos forming an alliance which will offer services that honour privacy of the customer, according to the standard that existed before China was allowed to enter the global market.  

Australia's telecommunication companies including Telstra and Optus joined a Clean Network program, a comprehensive approach to safeguarding the nation’s assets including citizens’ privacy and companies’ most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party. More than thirty telcos from eleven states joined the US President Donald Trump Administration launched program in May 2019. The Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung are leading the project to provide clean carrier, apps, store, path, cable and cloud.

The Clean Network is a reaction to the unprofessional behaviour of Huawei.