A US government probe has found no evidence that the under-fire telecommunications firm Huawei carried out espionage on behalf of the Chinese government, according to leaked reports.

The 18-month review, which is a different investigation from the one carried out by the Congressional panel that accused Huawei and ZTE of being ‘security threats’, suggests that vulnerabilities in American security systems were by far a bigger threat than anything posed by the Chinese company.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, two sources close to the review said that investigations had found nothing to indicate that Huawei was actively involved in spying for the Chinese government. However, one of the sources claims that “certain parts of the government” were desperately hoping that such evidence would be found.

The White House has apparently refused to make the findings of the report public, and when questioned, National Security Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden refused to comment on the matter.

Huawei spokesman Bill Plummer said that while he was not familiar with the review, he was not surprised to hear of the White House’s conclusions that his company isn’t involved in spying activities.

“Huawei is a $32bn [£19bn] independent multinational that would not jeopardize its success or the integrity of its customers’ networks for any government or third party – ever,” he stated.

The revelations come following claims by the US House Intelligence Committee earlier this month that Huawei, along with ZTE, presented a security threat to American companies and the government. The panel accused Huawei and ZTE of not being transparent regarding its relationship to the Chinese government, and also pointed to possible cases of corruption and bribery.

For their part, both Huawei and ZTE vigorously denied the charges, while some sections of the Chinese media have suggested that US firm Cisco could well have had a hand in the committee’s findings.