Q+A: Patrick Murphy interviewed by Corin Dann

America’s top official for the Asia Pacific has been in New Zealand and tonight talked to TVNZ 1’s Q+A programme about his concerns about Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei.

Patrick Murphy, is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

“There's room in this region for China - for an emerging China, and a China that plays by the rules can bring about much good in the world. Our concerns, though, are in fact profound, where China is not playing by the rules, is setting the framework according to its own interests and against the interests of many of our friends and partners. That's where the concerns lie. And those are the conversations we have.”

When asked if New Zealand’s relationship with the US would be affected if Huawei was allowed to invest in the 5G network, he refused to be drawn on whether there would be repercussions:

“Well, let's see how this unfolds. You're talking about an issue that's quite live and evolving, and all countries with their own independent sovereign foreign policies will make determinations in their own national security interest. I think from a US perspective, what we can do with our friends and allies is share our experience, share our insight and our very real national security concerns with not just Huawei, but other companies that are supported by the central state in Beijing and the fact that they are not playing with a level playing field, and that's of great concern to us.”

Q+A, 9:30pm Mondays on TVNZ 1 and one hour later on TVNZ 1 + 1.
Streamed live at www.tvnz.co.nz
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