China calls for explanation after Fedex blocks Huawei package
China’s foreign ministry has called on Fedex to offer a proper explanation after the courier firm apologised for blocking the shipment of a Huawei phone to the US.
Fedex has sparked anger in China after it emerged the firm returned a package containing a Huawei phone to its sender in the UK, a writer at US publication PC Magazine, which later wrote about the matter.
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The delivery company blamed the return on an “operational error”, and said it would deliver all Huawei products unless they were directed to addresses affected by a US trade blacklist.
But foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called for further explanation, and the alleged mistake sparked anger in Chinese state media, which suggested Fedex could be added to an upcoming blacklist.
Chinese authorities are currently investigating Fedex for misrouting packages sent by Huawei last month. Meanwhile, China is also drawing up a so-called Unreliable Entities List of foreign firms, groups and individuals.
The list mirrors the US Entity List that Huawei was added to in May, in a move that essentially bans American firms from doing business with the Chinese tech giant.
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Fedex rival UPS also confirmed to Reuters it would not ship to Huawei addresses on the blacklist, but said it had no general ban on Huawei products.
Huawei last week wrote in a tweet that Fedex was not within its rights to block the package and accused the company of carrying out a “vendetta”.