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Huawei and China frozen out in Sweden after appeals court upholds 5G ban
- Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE remain excluded from Swedish networks on security grounds
- Opinion poll suggests public see human rights and democracy as the top priorities in dealing with China
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Keegan Elmerin Beijing
Sweden will push ahead with building its 5G network without Huawei, despite protests from the company and the Chinese government, as the icy relations between Beijing and Stockholm showed little sign of thawing.
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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.
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, which had contested the ban, said its fight was not over. “There is an ongoing court procedure, for which I think everyone has to just wait and see,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Friday.
Last month, Borje Ekholm, the chief executive of Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson, told the Financial Times he opposed the ban, arguing that it undermined competition.
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In response to the appeals court upholding the ban, Beijing’s ambassador to Stockholm, Gui Congyou, said he still hoped Sweden would provide a “non-discriminatory” business environment for Chinese companies, and dismissed Sweden’s security concerns.
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