Advertisement
Huawei
TechBig Tech

China warns Swedish companies could suffer from Huawei ban

  • Sweden banned Huawei and ZTE 5G equipment after pressure from the US to avoid potential security risks
  • One of Huawei’s biggest rivals in 5G equipment is Sweden’s Ericsson, which gets about 10 per cent of its sales from China

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The US has pressured allies to not use Huawei Technologies’ 5G equipment over allegations that it poses a security risk, which the company denies. Photo: Reuters
Bloomberg
The Chinese foreign ministry warned Sweden that it should revoke its ban on Huawei Technologies to avoid hurting prospects for Swedish companies.
The announcement comes a day after Swedish authorities blocked operators from using Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE Corp as part of the country’s 5G network roll-out.

The decision was the latest in a series of restrictions by governments around the world on the Chinese companies, after continued pressure from the US to avoid potential security risks in 5G networks. China was Sweden’s eighth-largest export market in 2019, according to Sweden’s official statistics agency.

“The Chinese market is open to European companies including Swedish companies, but the Swedish side without any evidence, has discredited China and cracked down on China’s telecom companies,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in a press briefing on Wednesday. “Sweden should adopt an objective and fair attitude and address its wrong decision so as to avoid negative impacts to normal economic and trade cooperation between the two sides and avoid bringing any negative impacts to Swedish companies’ operations in China.”

Huawei’s biggest rival in the market for cellular radio equipment, Sweden’s Ericsson, is supplying 5G equipment to China’s three major mobile network operators. It derives about 10 per cent of its sales from the country.

Ericsson on Wednesday reported earnings that were stronger than analysts expected as the Chinese contracts, which initially were loss-making, have now started contributing to profits.

According to the Swedish Security Service, allowing Huawei or ZTE products could be detrimental to national security, as “Chinese state and intelligence services can influence and exhort pressure” on the companies.

Advertisement