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Spain must proceed very carefully as it deepens its relationship with China to keep it out of critical sectors such as data, defence and telecommunications where Beijing seeks to dominate, Benjamin Leon, the US Ambassador to Spain, said on Wednesday.
In one of his first public speeches since taking the job in February, Leon raised concerns that public contracts had been awarded to companies working with Huawei, the Chinese tech giant that Washington says poses “an unacceptable risk” to US national security.
“I don’t think that attains the level of security at which Spain and the United States are exchanging (information),” he said.
“If Spain ensures that China is kept out of critical areas, why not negotiate (with Beijing). But I see that they are starting to penetrate into critical areas and Spain must be really careful about this.”
