China could mete out its own sanctions against European telecom equipment makers Nokia and Ericsson if the EU bans Huawei from member states’ 5G networks. Already, the Chinese telecom maker has been banned in both the UK and the US.
The Wall Street Journal reports that China, through its Ministry of Commerce, is considering placing export controls on Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson. The controls would stop both companies from sending products they manufacture in China to other countries.
To China, it seems that the EU will mirror the UK decision as it did in January 2020. At the time the body had said that member nations must maintain diversity and limit access to the core of its 5G network. The Union then published a ‘toolbox’ green lighting but restricting the use of higher-risk vendors.
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Although it did not mention Huawei, it encouraged member states to maintain “a diverse and sustainable 5G supply chain in order to avoid long-term dependency.”
Huawei has been the biggest victim of the Trump administration’s trade war with China. The company denies Beijing using it as a tool for committing Espionage. The US, in May 2019, added Huawei to an ‘entity list’, effectively blacklisting it. Australia had also banned the company from its 5G networks since August 2018.
Nokia seems to be taking the impending retaliation in good stride. The company says it is mindful of the risks associated with its operations.
“As a global company operating in a multitude of regions, we are mindful of the geopolitical environment and the risks and opportunities that it creates for us,” a Nokia spokesperson said in a statement.
However, for China, any sanction on Huawei could have implications for Nokia and Ericsson. Whether that is sufficient to discourage the EU, will be seen soon.
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