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BEIJING: China on Wednesday (October 21) told Sweden to revoke the ban on Chinese tech companies from its 5G network, warning of “negative impacts” if it did not do so.
The Swedish telecoms regulator issued a ban on Tuesday that would require operators to recall existing Huawei and ZTE equipment by 2025, citing national security concerns.
Chinese telecommunications companies have faced bans and increased scrutiny in recent months over fears that Beijing could use its overseas agreements to spy on foreign nationals.
That has sparked a furious response from Beijing, which denies the allegations and says fabricated security concerns against its successful tech companies are being used to lock them up for commercial reasons.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “very unhappy” with Sweden’s decision, accusing the Swedish government of “blatantly cracking down on Chinese telecommunications companies and politicizing normal economic cooperation.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Sweden to “correct its wrong decision” to avoid a “negative impact on the China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation, and on the operations of Swedish companies in China.”
Sweden’s decision comes amid pressure from the United States on allies to remove Huawei from its internet infrastructure.
Britain banned mobile providers from using Huawei equipment on new 5G networks in July, while France imposed heavy restrictions on the use of Huawei equipment.
The ban has raised fears that China may retaliate against Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson, which has 5G contracts with the three major Chinese telecom operators.
