China Telecom Corp’s US unit urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not to revoke the company’s nearly two-decade old authorization to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States.

The filing late Monday came after the U.S. Justice Department and other agencies in April asked the FCC to revoke the authorization of China Telecom (Americas), the U.S. subsidiary of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-owned telecommunications company, citing national security concerns.

China Telecom (Americas) filing called the government’s claims “unfounded” and argued the FCC should not revoke its right to operate in the United States “based solely on foreign policy concerns in the absence of any evidence whatsoever of specific misconduct.”

Late last month, China Telecom Americas, director of corporate communications Ge Yu categorically denied these allegations and said "the company has always been extremely cooperative and transparent with regulators.”

"In many instances, we have gone beyond what has been requested to demonstrate how our business operates and serves our customers following the highest international standards," Ge said. "We look forward to sharing additional details to support our position and addressing any concerns."

The company, which obtained its license to operate in the U.S. in 2001, has offices in 31 countries across the continents and offers a variety of telecommunications services to both businesses and individual consumers. With FCC approvals, it is authorized to provide communications, data, television and business services in the U.S. as a facilities-based common carrier.

But the firm only offers very limited business to consumer (B2C) services to individual customers mostly comprised of Chinese nationals travelling to the U.S.-Reuters/CGTN

China Telecom pleads with US regulator to hold on to license