Department of Justice chiefs charged Huawei with a long list of accusations just days before crunch trade talks between the US and China kick off
THE US government last night charged Chinese tech giant Huawei with stealing trade secrets - including trying to nick a ROBOT named "Tappy" used to test smartphones.
Justice Department chiefs also charged one of the company's top executives and several subsidiaries - claiming the business violated US sanctions and misled banks.
The charges were announced just before a crucial two-day round of talks between the United States and China are set to begin in Washington amid fears of an impending trade war between the superpowers.
Trade analysts say they could seriously diminish prospects for a breakthrough.
The sweeping indictments accuse the company of using extreme efforts to steal trade secrets from American businesses.
This including trying to take a piece of a robot from a T-Mobile lab.
The executive charged is Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou - who was arrested in Canada last month.
American officials are seeking to extradite her - alleging she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei's business dealings in Iran.
In a statement, Huawei denied committing any of the violations cited in the rap-sheet, which was unsealed on Monday evening.
David Martin, Meng's lawyer in Canada, didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Meng is out on bail in Vancouver and her case is due back in court Tuesday as she awaits extradition proceedings to begin.
Huawei is the world's biggest supplier of network equipment used by phone and internet companies.
It has long been seen as a front for spying by the Chinese military or security services.
In a statement, the company said it "denies that it or its subsidiary or affiliate have committed any of the asserted violations of US law set forth in each of the indictments."
It added that Huawei is "not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng and believes the US courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion."
Prosecutors say Huawei did business in Iran through a Hong Kong company called Skycom and Meng misled US banks into believing the two companies were separate.
Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said: "As I told high-level Chinese law enforcement officials in August, we need more law enforcement cooperation with China.
"China should be concerned about criminal activities by Chinese companies and China should take action."
Among the accusations, prosecutors say Huawei stole trade secrets including the technology behind a robotic device that T-Mobile used to test smartphones.
Beginning in 2012, Huawei hatched a plan to steal information about T-Mobile's robot, named "Tappy," and Huawei engineers secretly took photos of the robot, according to prosecutors.
They also measured it and tried to steal a piece of it from T-Mobile's lab in Washington state, it is claimed.
T-Mobile declined to comment.
The Huawei case has set off diplomatic spats among the United States, China and Canada.
President Donald Trump said he would get involved in the Huawei case if it would help produce a trade agreement with China.
The two countries agreed in December to negotiate for 90 days in an effort to defuse worsening trade tensions.
Trump has postponed a scheduled increase in U.S. tariffs on $200billion ($152bn) of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent during the talks.
A breakdown in negotiations would likely lead to higher tariffs - a prospect that has rattled financial markets for months.
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