China is reportedly limiting the use of European equipment in its telecoms infrastructure, pointing to a deepening technological gulf between Beijing and the West.
Chinese state-controlled mobile operators, utilities, and other major firms are subjecting Ericsson of Sweden and Finland’s Nokia to months-long national security investigations, the results of which are sometimes not made public, according to the Financial Times. It puts the European firms at a potential disadvantage compared to Chinese competitors, who are not similarly reviewed. The EU, for its part, is stepping up its scrutiny of China’s Huawei and ZTE, with its executive arm pledging to avoid using mobile networks built with the companies’ equipment, while Spain has canceled a telecoms contract over the provider’s use of Huawei technology.