7:40 AM -- With the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee apparently desperate to raise suspicions about the intentions of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp., there seems little prospect that the U.S. security spotlight trained on the Chinese vendors is likely to be turned off any time soon.

Committee chairman Mike Rogers raised the key issues of security and government subsidies during a conference late last week and is preparing a lengthy report into the two communications equipment vendors that should be completed within a few months, reports Reuters.

That same report includes a denial from Huawei global board director Chen Lifang that her company has developed its business on the back of illegal subsidies.

Rogers and fellow committee member Dutch Ruppersberger have requested documents from both of the Chinese firms as part of an intensified investigation into their businesses, they noted in a recent press statement.

The ongoing investigation appears to be affecting Huawei's business in the U.S., where it has been trying to gain a foothold in the carrier and enterprise equipment, and mobile handset, markets. Light Reading recently reported that Huawei had reduced its U.S. headcount as, according to sources, the ongoing probe is leading network operators to exclude the Chinese vendors from their plans. (See Huawei Cuts Some US Staff.)

The U.S. isn't the only tricky market for the Chinese vendors, which are also coming under scrutiny in Europe and elsewhere. (See Euronews: EC Sharpens Knives Over Huawei, ZTE, Huawei Denied German Bid, ZTE Defends Iran Position and Australia's (Safe) Bet Against Huawei.)

For more on Huawei and ZTE see:

• KPN Trials 400G With Huawei
  
• Huawei, ZTE Execs Found Guilty of Corruption
  
• Huawei Replaces AlcaLu at Sunrise
  
• Huawei Looks Beyond Docsis
  
• NSN Sticks It to Huawei
  
• Euronews: Huawei Wins Big in UK
  
• Sales Grow, Profits Shrink at ZTE

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading