The United States has issued a warning to Syria not to rely on Chinese technology in the telecommunications sector, as it conflicts with American interests and threatens national security, according to three informed sources who spoke to Reuters.
A team from the US State Department met with Syria’s Minister of Communications Abdulsalam Haykal in an undisclosed meeting in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 24th, to convey this message.
Since Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa overturned longtime leader Bashar al-Assad’s strategic partnership with the Chinese Communist Party in 2024, Washington has maintained close coordination with Syria. However, a Syrian businessman involved in procurement negotiations revealed that Syria is exploring the possibility of acquiring Chinese technology to support its telecommunications towers and local internet service providers’ infrastructure.
Another source briefed on the meeting stated that the US side requested clarification from Syria regarding the communication ministry’s plans concerning Chinese telecom equipment. Syrian officials emphasized the urgency of infrastructure development projects and the need for diversifying suppliers.
A source familiar with the San Francisco meeting disclosed that Syria is willing to collaborate with American companies, but the telecommunications reconstruction work is pressing. The main obstacles currently lie in existing export controls and the prevalent “over-compliance” tendency among US companies, making it challenging for Syrian needs to be met with the pace of access to American technology when urgently required for construction materials.
A US diplomat familiar with the discussions informed Reuters that the State Department is “clearly urging the Syrians to use American or allied technology in the telecommunications sector.” It remains unclear whether the US has promised to provide funding or logistical support to Syria to achieve this goal.
When responding to questions from Reuters, a State Department spokesperson stated, “We urge all countries to prioritize national security and privacy over cheap equipment and services in all critical infrastructure procurements. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually isn’t.”
The spokesperson added that Chinese intelligence and security agencies “can legally compel Chinese citizens and companies to share sensitive data or grant unauthorized access to their customer systems,” and Chinese companies’ commitments to protecting customer privacy are “completely at odds with China’s own laws and established practices.”
The Chinese government consistently denies allegations of using technology for espionage activities.
Syria’s communication ministry told Reuters that decisions involving equipment and infrastructure are made “based on national technological and security standards to ensure data protection and service continuity.” The department stated that diversifying cooperation partners and technology sources is also a priority to serve national interests.
Moreover, the department emphasized its willingness to expand cooperation with American companies once these restrictions from the US are lifted.
According to a senior official from a telecommunications company and documents reviewed by Reuters, Huawei technology currently dominates over 50% of the infrastructure of Syria’s two operators, Syriatel and MTN.
Syria is seeking to develop the private telecommunications sector devastated by the 14-year war by attracting foreign investment.
In early February, the largest telecommunications operator in Saudi Arabia, STC, announced a $800 million investment to enhance infrastructure and build a regional fiber optic network. Currently, network connection speeds in most parts of Syria remain extremely slow, standing at only a few thousand kilobits per second (Kbps).