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EXCLUSIVE-Huawei reviewing FedEx relationship, says packages ‘diverted’

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By Sijia Jiang

HONG KONG, May 28 (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei is reviewing its relationship with FedEx Corp after it claimed the U.S. package delivery company, without detailed explanation, diverted two parcels destined for Huawei addresses in Asia to the United States and attempted to reroute two others.

Huawei told Reuters on Friday that FedEx diverted two packages sent from Japan and addressed to Huawei in China to the United States, and attempted to divert two more packages sent from Vietnam to Huawei offices elsewhere in Asia, all without authorisation, providing images of FedEx tracking records.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the records. Shown the images of the tracking records, FedEx declined to make any comment, saying company policy prevented it from disclosing customer information.

Huawei said the four packages only contained documents and "no technology," which Reuters was unable to independently confirm.

Huawei declined to elaborate on why it thought the packages were diverted. Reuters was given no evidence the incident was related to the U.S. government's move to place Huawei and its affiliates on a trade blacklist in mid-May, effectively banning U.S. firms from doing business with them on security grounds.

"The recent experiences where important commercial documents sent via FedEx were not delivered to their destination, and instead were either diverted to, or were requested to be diverted to, FedEx in the United States, undermines our confidence," Joe Kelly, a spokesman for Huawei, told Reuters.

"We will now have to review our logistics and document delivery support requirements as a direct result of these incidents," the spokesman said.

Huawei acknowledged to Reuters that one package originating in Vietnam was received by Friday, and the other was on its way, according to FedEx tracking records provided by Huawei.

FedEx spokeswoman Maury Donahue told Reuters the packages were "misrouted in error" and that FedEx was not requested to divert them by any other party.

"This is an isolated issue limited to a very small number of packages," said FedEx, referring to the four parcels affected. "We are aware of all shipments at issue and are working directly with our customers to return the packages to their possession."

The U.S. Department of Commerce did not reply to a request for comment on whether the incident might be related to its move on May 16 to add Huawei to the so-called "Entity List," preventing it buying certain items from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval.

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FORMAL COMPLAINT

The United States believes Huawei, the world's largest telecom network gear maker leading the way in creating the next generation of wireless networks known as 5G, is a potential espionage threat because of its close ties with the Chinese government.

Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services.

The issue has become a flashpoint in an escalating trade battle between the world's two biggest economies.

The two packages sent on May 19 and May 20 from Tokyo, intended for Huawei in China, ended up in Memphis, Tennessee, the headquarters of the U.S. company, by May 23, according to images of FedEx tracking records shown to Reuters by Huawei.

The two packages originating from Hanoi on May 17, destined for Huawei's Hong Kong and Singapore offices, were held up after arriving in local FedEx stations in Hong Kong and Singapore on May 21 for "delivery exception," according to other images Huawei showed Reuters.

According to FedEx's website, the status "exception" means an unexpected event is preventing delivery of a package, for example a customs delay, a holiday, or no one being available to accept delivery. FedEx declined to give details on what the exception was in this case.

According to Huawei, a FedEx customer service representative in Vietnam replied to their inquiry on May 22 when two expected packages did not arrive on time, saying: "Please be informed that FDX SG received notification from FDX US to hold and return the package to US. Hence, the shipment is not deliver to consignee and now being hold at FDX station and under process to RTS it (return to sender)," the representative wrote in broken English, according to an email Huawei showed to Reuters.


Huawei told Reuters that both Vietnam packages were sent by its shipping agent, a contractor to Huawei whom it did not identify, and contained urgent documents. It said the shipping agent refused permission for FedEx to send the packages to the United States and instructed they be returned, Huawei told Reuters. Reuters could not confirm that.

Huawei told Reuters it only learned that the Japan-originated packages, which were sent by suppliers that it did not identify, had been diverted to the United States after checking FedEx's tracking record.

The company said it has lodged a formal complaint with China's postal regulator, which it said is investigating the incident. China's State Postal Bureau did not return a request for comment. (Reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, James Pearson in Hanoi, Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Yawen Chen in Beijing Editing by Bill Rigby)
 
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Can we say FedEX is under control of the US Government now? Therefore FedEX should be banned from doing business in China including Hong Kong for national security reason just like they did with HuaWei then.:devil:
 
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20:27, 28-May-2019
Who is behind FedEx diverting Huawei parcels to U.S.?
John Gong

190c5337eeb349caae18da15374407fa.jpg

Editor's note: John Gong is a research fellow at Charhar Institute and professor at the University of International Business and Economics. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

If the Chinese Ministry of Commerce had a bureau of industry and security, I would recommend putting FedEx on an "entity list," at least to investigate why FedEx would put its dirty hands – intentionally or unintentionally – on four parcels belonging to Huawei.

Why does the route of a parcel from Japan or Vietnam to China have to pass through the United States?

Reuters quoted Joe Kelly, a spokesman for Huawei as saying, "The recent experiences where important commercial documents sent via FedEx were not delivered to their destination, and instead were either diverted to, or were requested to be diverted to, FedEx in the United States, undermines our confidence."

FedEx hasn't offered an answer yet.

89be374e28dd4212a63837cceb2c7fff.jpg
Huawei Technologies Co. Mate20 Pro smartphones are on display inside a Media Market electronic goods store, operated by Ceconomy AG in Berlin, Germany, December 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

This is no light matter, as it indeed concerns national security. It is hard not to draw comparisons between this incident and what the Trump administration alleges Huawei is doing.

FedEx is a courier and logistics company operating a global network. Fundamentally, its infrastructure is no different from the kind of telecommunications infrastructure that Huawei builds around the world.

While a telecom network, say a 5G network of the future, sends bytes at laser speed from location A to location B on the information highway, FedEx carries parcels from the same location A to the same location B in an old-fashioned way on the real highway.

FedEx's speed in relative terms may look like that of a snail compared to Huawei-built networks, but it shines with the kind of stuff it carries that the information highway can't.

In both scenarios, there is an embedded trust from their customers in the integrity of the networks that both companies build or run.

c02f41b1b0b44a9e9325424154deeac6.jpg
Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei. /VCG Photo

Washington has been questioning that trust with respect to Huawei. It has been saying Huawei has the potential and capability to tamper with those bytes on the information highways it built. But aside from propagandizing, it hasn't provided a shred of evidence to back its claim.

Washington has also been saying that Huawei's CEO, Mr. Ren Zhengfei, used to serve in the military, which is enough of a cause to suspect Huawei's ties to the Chinese military.

Well, now we have solid evidence that FedEx has already tampered with four parcels in its custody, which belong to Huawei. There is already a shadow of spying fingerprints on these four parcels, and one would naturally wonder who is behind this and why is this being done?

There is already evidence that Washington's National Security Agency (NSA) has intruded into Huawei's networks and stole some proprietary information. Could it be that the NSA is not satisfied with merely hacking some bytes, but now wants to hack some parcels as well?

7db91c04d1b04c7b81f80f5b891877b1.jpg
Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou (C) leaves her home with security guards in Vancouver, December 12, 2018. /VCG Photo.

Allow me to further add some credibility to this hypothesis, as per the Washington logic, by bringing up FedEx founder and CEO Fredrick W. Smith's connection to the U.S. military, which certainly looks much more impressive than Ren Zhengfei's experience in the People's Liberation Army (PLA). This great man served in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years (from 1966 to 1969) as a platoon leader and a forward air controller, actually in real combat missions in Vietnam.

He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain, having received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts.

Is there any reasonable doubt that this deeply military man has any connection with the Pentagon? Is there any reasonable doubt that his company would be used for secretive missions for the Langley complex in Virginia? Is there any reasonable doubt that parcels going through this company's network would all be subject to the kind of national security risk allegedly associated with Huawei, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is better qualified than anyone due to his previous job, has been propagating?

The answers to the above three questions, in my opinion, are all yes, yes, and yes! Why? Here is a clue from what Pompeo recently said at an event at the Texas A&M University:

"I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It was like -- we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)
 
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Misdirected package. Happened to me. Though I dont think the US govt was involved and will not be going to the UN to whine.
FedEX delivers tens of millions of packages every day
 
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Just nationalize all of FedEx assets in China.

Any company taking orders from Washington in the trade war in moving jobs, factories or orders out of China, should be met with Chinese communist nationalization.

If neo-capitalist 'free trade' under trump means economic warfare against China, then go back to communist roots of nationalizing those select Amerikan businesses.

First dump all US treasuries and buy PMs with that 1 trillion. Then nationalize. Then fix the yuan at a fairer rate for the Chinese - fixed to gold.

And watch the Amerikan economy fall into Great Depression.

Can't nationalize any Amerikan business until those treasuries are sold.

trump forcing China to make bold moves.
 
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