Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei on Monday "unequivocally" denied a congressional report that declared them a threat to American national security.

Bill Plummer, Huawei's top spokesman in the United States, said that while the report is "quite strong on rhetoric, it is utterly lacking in substance."

"This report is little more than an exercise in China-bashing and misguided protectionism," he said during a conference call with reporters. "And selecting a world-respected company like Huawei as a proxy for such attacks is also an egregious example of libel."

White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that the U.S. still had "differences" with strongman Hugo Chavez, who won his third term.

Team Obama hit back at Romney's foreign policy speech, calling the GOP nominee "erratic, unsteady and irresponsible"

Romney, in a major foreign policy address, said the situation in the Middle East has grown worse under Obama

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President Obama and Mitt Romney’s campaigns on Monday sparred over foreign policy, hours before the Republican candidate was slated to deliver a major address on the issue.

The Obama campaign sought to prebut the Romney address with a new ad and memo that highlighted foreign policy missteps during the campaign to paint the candidate as unready to be commander-in-chief. Romney's staffers, meanwhile, leaked excerpts of the Republican candidate's speech vowing to “change course in the Middle East” and slammed the administration’s foreign policy.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

Mitt Romney is going on the offensive today with a foreign policy speech — his sixth, by some estimates — that again aims to paint the president as feckless and naive in his dealing with the Middle East. The speech isn't without risks, however, as even conservatives warn that the Republican candidate needs to spell out specifics instead of just slamming President Obama.

Already, Democrats have launched a counter-attack in the form of a new campaign ad that accuses Romney of recklessness in his dealings with the world. And they're pushing back hard against Republican attacks on the lack of protection at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans died, saying the budget put forth by Romney's running mate Paul Ryan could have slashed funding for embassy security.

Foes you can count on: Hugo Chávez won a third term as president of Venezuela and is sure to cause new headaches for U.S. lawmakers and administration officials who hoped he was as good as gone. [The New York Times]

The slain ambassador had requested a security team to remain with him after their deployment was scheduled to end.

Riding high after the first debate, the Republican candidate plans to deliver a follow-up blow Monday on foreign policy.