Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted, US Attorney General William Barr said in a statement to Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai.

Barr wrote in support of the FCC project, which would prohibit these two companies from selling goods to organizations using money from the FCC Universal Service Fund, CNBC reported.

Barr noted the significant role of companies in the global 5G equipment market as a reason for caution.

“We will become even more dependent on those networks as more and more devices and services are connected and operate at unprecededented speeds. Human life and safety as well as critical government functions will ride on them,” he said.

US intelligence agencies believe that Huawei and ZTE have too close ties with the government in Beijing, and these ties pose a threat to US national security.

Barr referred to a number of criminal cases involving Huawei in the US, including federal charges against the company's CFO Meng Wanzhou. He also referred to a criminal case in Washington state, under which Huawei is accused of illegally using relations with T-Mobile to steal company trade secrets.

Huawei categorically denies the allegations, as well as the fact that the company is subordinate to the Chinese government or the military.