China Ditching European Telecom Tech, EU Slow to Respond: FT

China is ending use of European suppliers of telecom gear in its networks, according to a report by the Financial Times on Wednesday, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

The move comes amid a push by President Xi Jinping for China to replace critical tech infrastructure from the West and a greater focus by state buyers of telecom equipment, who now require bidders to include detailed documentation on all components in their systems, as well as local content, the report said.

Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia contracts must now be submitted for “black box” national security reviews by the Cyberspace Administration of China, where the companies are not told how their gear is assessed, the FT said.

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Reviews by the CAC can take three months or more, and even if European groups eventually get approval, the long and uncertain audits can leave them at a disadvantage because local rivals face no scrutiny, sources said.

Ericsson and Nokia’s combined share of China’s mobile networks has reportedly been slashed from about 12% in 2020 to 4% last year, but Huawei and ZTE still have about a third of the mobile infrastructure in the EU.

This has spurred debate on why European officials are not taking action against Huawei and ZTE despite similar warnings about the Chinese telecom firms and concern about potential backdoor access.

The EU Chamber of Commerce in China said its tech groups face China’s localisation requirements pose a huge threat to its tech firms, while only 10 of the EU’s 27 countries have restricted Chinese equipment as of mid-2025.

Ericsson declined to comment on the report. Nokia did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours. The CAC could not be immediately reached.