Germany's decision draws strong opposition

BERLIN — The Chinese embassy in Germany on Thursday voiced strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Germany's decision to gradually remove Chinese telecom components from its 5G networks.

Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior announced on its official website on Thursday that the ministry has agreed with the nation's mobile network operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica to exclude Chinese companies such as Huawei or ZTE from the nation's 5G network products, citing so-called security risks.

The three operators are asked to stop using all critical components made by Huawei and ZTE in their 5G core networks by the end of 2026. The operators are also required to replace Huawei and ZTE's 5G network management systems in 5G access and transmission infrastructure by the end of 2029.

In response to the ban, Huawei said on Friday there was "no specific evidence" that the firm's "technology has cybersecurity risks".

In a statement, the Chinese embassy said such a decision is based on groundless accusations as Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, have long operated in Germany in compliance with laws and regulations, making positive contributions to Germany's digitization process.

The so-called network security risks are just an excuse by certain countries to maintain technological hegemony and suppress competitors, it said, adding that there is no evidence indicating that these Chinese companies are a danger to any country.

Noting that China has always maintained an open attitude toward European companies like Nokia and Ericsson in its 5G construction, the statement said Germany's move would severely damage mutual trust and affect future China-EU cooperation in relevant fields.

"Whether Germany can handle this issue fairly and justly will be a touchstone for its own business environment," the statement said.

Germany and the European side should not demand fair competition on the one hand, but impose discriminatory policies upon companies from another country based on groundless accusations on the other hand.

China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese companies, it said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news conference on Thursday that politicizing trade and tech issues will only disrupt normal exchanges and cooperation in technology and does not serve anyone's interests.

Xinhua - Agencies