US praises Reliance Jio as 'clean telco' while thrashing China's Huawei

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called Reliance Industries Limited's telecom arm, Reliance Jio, as clean telecom company while thrashing China's Huawei as Chinese military-controlled corporation. Pompeo explained how tides are turning against China's Huawei and how companies like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio are rejecting working with 'tools of the CCP surveillance state, like Huawei.'

“Some of the largest telecom companies around the globe are also becoming clean telcos. We’ve seen this with Orange in France, Jio in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in South Korea, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom,” Pompeo said.

Of the total ten recent investments in Jio Platforms, seven US-based companies have bought over 19% share in Jio for over ₹90,000 crore. The largest of the investments in Jio Platforms have come from Facebook, which bought 9.99% stake in Jio for ₹43,574 crore.

RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani claims that Reliance Jio is the only network in the world that doesn't use a single Chinese equipment.

Mike Pompeo's comments came a few hours before an adverse Pentagon report which accuses 20 Chinese companies, including Huawei, as Chinese military-controlled corporations.

In letters to lawmakers dated June 24, the Pentagon said it was providing a list of “Communist Chinese military companies operating in the United States.”

Huawei, the world's leading telecom supplier and second largest phone manufacturer, is being heavily scrutinized by US authorities for its alleged close relationship with Chinese ruling dispensation.

US has banned its companies and its allies from working with Huawei. In January 2020, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave Huawei approval to build only non-core parts of country's 5G infrastructure.