US presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecoms systems, cites threat to national security

The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter.The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been ‌coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now President Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted long-time leader Bashar al-Assad, who had a strategic partnership with China.Syria is exploring the possibility of procuring Chinese technology to support its telecommunications towers and the infrastructure of local internet service providers, according to a Syrian businessman involved in the procurement talks.“The US side asked for clarity on the ministry’s plans regarding Chinese telecoms equipment,” said another source briefed on the talks.But Syrian officials said infrastructure development projects were time critical and that Damascus was seeking greater vendor diversity, the source added.Syria is open to partnering with US firms but the matter was urgent and export controls and “over-compliance” remained an issue, according to a person familiar with the meeting ‌in San Francisco.