If the EU bans Huawei equipment, its own companies may struggle to do business in China, a report said Monday.
Corinne Reichert/CNET
China could retaliate against European telecom equipment makers Nokia and Ericsson if the European Union bans Huawei from member states’ 5G networks, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. It follows the UK following the US in blocking the embattled Chinese company‘s gear from its next generation wireless network.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce is considering placing export controls on Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson that’d stop them from sending products they manufacture in China to other countries, according to Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
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Back in January, the EU issued a “toolbox” green lighting but restricting the use of higher-risk vendors in its member states’ 5G rollouts. It didn’t name Huawei, but offered countries a voluntary way to restrict Huawei’s presence in their networks.
Ericsson declined to comment, while Nokia didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
