Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies went on trial on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, on criminal charges after eight years of legal wrangling with the US government.
The Shenzhen-based company has pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, trade secret theft, and racketeering, with the alleged criminal activity dating back to 1999.
Jury selection began on Tuesday, local time, with US District Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York instructing potential jurors to strive to be as “fair and impartial” as possible.
“China and the Communist Party … are not on trial,” she said, also noting that the ongoing US-Iran conflict should not influence jurors’ judgment.
Federal prosecutors said in court documents filed with the Eastern District of New York that Huawei carried out a decades-long racketeering scheme to grow its worldwide business.
They accuse it of engaging in intellectual property theft, violations of US sanctions on Iran and deceiving major banks about its Iran ties, all of which the company denies.