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In December 2017, the United States changed its strategy towards China and for the first time singled out the country as a direct threat to economic and military interests, but also to values.
The change was not unexpected, but it was surprisingly abrupt. For decades, the goal was to make China more like the West through free trade, and just a year earlier, Barack Obama pointed out that the United States was fighting for a strong China, not a weak one.
Beijing’s response was more or less to tighten the currency, steal other people’s patents, and upgrade the military.
Since the Americans reconsidered, things have gone pretty fast.
The Trump administration has raised tariffs on nearly all imports, made it difficult for Chinese companies to invest in the United States, and banned telecom giants Huawei and ZTE, and more.
Pressure has been put on Europeans who have conducted similar analyzes but have lagged behind for trade policy reasons. Germany came to the fore and more or less excluded the Chinese from its 5G network in September. The British hesitated for a long time but did the same in July.
Australia, which trades more with China than Sweden with Germany and Norway, took a step back in 2018. Since then, relations have frozen and Beijing calls Canberra “gum under the shoe.”
It is in this context that the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Agency decided on Tuesday to ban the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment on the defunct Swedish 5G network, after strong evaluations by the Swedish Armed Forces and Säpo.
In practical terms, this means that the Chinese are not allowed to participate in the acquisition of antennas and base stations that take place in November, and that all existing Chinese equipment must be withdrawn within five years.
Listen to Australians, they have significantly higher economic values at stake.
The decision is very clear and very important. Huawei and ZTE are not ordinary companies, but actually the extended arm of the communist regime.
In China, there is no defined boundary between public and private, and since 2017, both citizens and businesses are required by law to support the intelligence work of the state when necessary.
The Chinese are now one of the biggest threats to Sweden, Säpo chief Klas Friberg said on Tuesday. Giving them direct access to a mega-wifi where everything from self-driving cars to systemically important infrastructure to state administration would be connected, of course, would be silly.
Of course, it can be injected that costs had been reduced, or that Swedish companies will have to suffer in return, or that Chinese companies will be able to recover anyway. But those objections are not new or unique to Sweden.
Listen to the Australians, they have significantly higher economic values at stake and actually go further.
Sweden will also have to do the same. Systematic acquisitions of companies in strategically important areas such as electronics, biotechnology and the automotive industry must be continuously and thoroughly reviewed. On November 1, a national system for selecting foreign investment will enter into force. EU legislation has been in place for a couple of weeks.
Similarly, strategic infrastructure must be protected. The 2018 Lysekil port tours, where the government’s strategy came down to correcting stubborn city councilors, were a bottomless pit.
Now it’s finally moving. Maybe Sweden is also on the verge of sobriety?
