Sweden will go ahead building its 5G network without the Chinese company Huawei despite protests from the company and the Chinese Government.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) said on Friday it would resume its next-generation telecoms auctions next month, after an appeals court upheld an October decision to ban Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from its networks on security grounds.
Huawei however have opposed the ban and said they are not done fighting for a lift of the ban. A spokesman said to Reuters on friday: “There is an ongoing court procedure, for which I think everyone has to just wait and see”.
Borje Ekholm, chief executive of Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson also opposed the ban and he told the Financial Times last month that it undermined competition.
Democracy and human rights are the most pressing issues for Swedish citizens in their country’s relations with China and according to the most recent polling data the decision is in line with the latest public opinion polls in Sweden, which holds some of the most negative views of China in Europe.
Gui Congyou, Beijing’s ambassador to Stockholm, said in response to the appeals court upholding the ban, that he still hoped Sweden would provide a “non-discriminatory” business environment for Chinese companies and dismissed Sweden’s security concerns. In an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen Gui Congyou said: “We urge the Swedish side to immediately correct this unfounded wrong decision.”
Read the full article from South China Morning Post here
