Germany has decided to phase out 5G equipment made by Huawei and ZTE from its telecom infrastructure over the next five years. A Spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Germany expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the decision, warning that it will seriously undermine the mutual trust between the two sides and will also affect future cooperation between China and the EU in related fields. Chinese experts warned that the removal of Chinese components from the 5G network will have a significant cost and hinder the country's communications development. The Chinese Embassy Spokesperson said that Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese communications companies have long been operating in Germany in compliance with the law, making a positive contribution to the German digitalization process. The Huawei and ZTE 5G issue is essentially a move by individual countries to suppress their competitors in order to safeguard their own scientific and technological hegemony, the Spokesperson added, noting that the so-called cybersecurity risk is nothing more than a pretext. In fact, no country has so far produced any conclusive evidence of the existence of security risks in the equipment of Chinese enterprises.
“The German side's announcement of the decision as the NATO Summit was held in Washington has further caused China to seriously question the independence of its decision-making,” the Spokesperson noted. “Germany's move can be seen as politicizing economic cooperation, as the country is now facing more pressure from the U.S. and the EU,” Sun Yanhong, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Openness is mutual, and China's 5G construction has always been open to European companies such as Nokia and Ericsson. China has never seen these companies as a security threat. Germany's move is naked political discrimination, which seriously undermines the mutual trust between the two sides, said the Spokesperson. Sun noted that Germany's digital infrastructure is relatively backward, while Huawei and ZTE's equipment is leading in terms of technology, integrated solutions and cost-effective products. “The cost of the transition is expected to be significant, and will limit the development of all areas of the country's digital economy including smart driving, smart healthcare and manufacturing automation,” the expert warned. The German and European sides cannot, on the one hand, demand fair competition, while on the other hand discriminate against companies from other countries on the basis of unfounded so-called potential security risks, said the Spokesperson. Whether the relevant issues can be handled fairly and impartially is a litmus test of Germany's own business environment, as it will affect not only the normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, but also the confidence of foreign investors in Germany. China will take the necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises, the Spokesperson noted.
