China took a jibe at United States President Donald Trump on Thursday and asked him to consider switching his Apple iPhone for a Chinese smartphone after a media report claimed that Beijing was bugging his phones and listening in to private communication.
On Wednesday, The New York Times cited US intelligence reports as saying that “Chinese spies” were often listening when “President Trump calls old friends on one of his iPhones to gossip, gripe or solicit their latest take on how he is doing”. Not just China, the intelligence officials claim that Russia is also routinely eavesdropping on the calls. Despite repeated warnings against using the iPhone as it isn’t a secure line, Trump has not dithered and continues to use his private mobile on many occasions, claimed the report.
At a press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made light of the situation. “Reading this report, I feel that today in the United States there really are some people who are doing their utmost to win best script at the Oscars,” she said.
Hua said that Trump might consider using a Huawei handset, one of China’s biggest phone manufacturers, which might be more secure. “If they are really very worried about Apple phones being bugged, then they can change to using Huawei,” she said. “If they are still not at ease, then in order to have an entirely secure device, they can stop using all forms of modern communication devices and cut off all ties with the outside world.”
Last year, Huawei surpassed Apple in global sales to become the world’s second biggest smartphone brand for the first time, behind Samsung.
Russia also denied the eavesdropping claims, reported the BBC. “We already treat these sort of stories with a certain humour,” said presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Trump described the report as a “fake story”. “Except that I rarely use a cellphone, and when I do it’s government authorized,” he tweeted.
The US and China are engaged in a trade war, with both countries increasing tariffs on goods imported from the other. After the Trump administration announced new tariffs of 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, China hit back by imposing new trade tariffs on $60 billion worth of American goods.
Trump has even accused China of trying to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections, without providing any evidence. “They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade,” he said.
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