TRADE WARS! Huawei, ZTE to be hit as EU moves to force phase-out of Chinese equipment in critical infrastructure

Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. are staring at expulsion from European Union critical infrastructure, as the bloc moves to force the phase out of Chinese made equipment from its telecom networks and solar energy systems, as per a Financial Times report citing official sources.
The European Commission, China’s commerce ministry, Huawei and ZTE have not commented yet.
The sources said that the EU’s new cybersecurity proposal presented on 20 January mandates restriction on high-risk vendors. At present, restrictions are voluntary, it added.
Notably, telecom companies in Germany and Spain, which have large telecom markets, have previously resisted implementing such measures.
Timelines for the phase-out will depend on the risks posed to the bloc and the specific sector and would take into account the costs and availability of alternative suppliers, it added.
Huawei faces toughened stance in EU, US
The Reuters report noted that Huawei has been considering the future of a recently completed plant in eastern France, amid growing toughened stance by some governments on using Chinese equipment and the slow roll-out of 5G in Europe.
The United States in 2022 amid trade war with China, banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and ZTE and has encouraged European allies to do the same, it added.
In November 2025, Bloomberg cited sources to report the European Commission is looking for ways to force member states to phase out Huawei and ZTE from their telecom networks. Notably, the UK and Sweden have banned the use of Chinese vendors years ago.
It said Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen is examining ways to limit the use of Chinese equipment suppliers in fixed-line networks, even as countries push to expand high-speed internet access.
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