Mubasher: The US government has denied it could buy controlling interests in Nokia and Ericsson, two of the main rivals to China’s Huawei Technologies.

This comes following a suggestion from US Attorney General William Barr, who said last week the US and its allies need to consider acquiring controlling stakes in Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson, Reuters reported.

In response, US Vice President Mike Pence believes there could be other ways to face the dominance of the China-based tech giant, telling CNBC that the solution is depending on American companies and the power of the free market.

“The US government is not in the business of buying companies, whether they are domestic or foreign,” said Larry Kudlow, Director of the United States National Economic Council, who serves as an economic advisor to the White House.

Moreover, Kudlow indicated that there is already cooperation between the US and these companies, adding that US-based companies can invest and acquire the previously mentioned tech firms.

The Trump administration has repeatedly voiced security concerns around Chinese tech giants, including ZTE and Huawei, with the latter seen as a threat with its global presence in the rising domain of 5G networks.