The European Commission is urging European Union member states to avoid using equipment from Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE in connectivity infrastructure, citing cybersecurity concerns.
Reuters reported that the recommendation comes as Brussels considers new cybersecurity rules that could give the EU authority to ban equipment from suppliers deemed high risk. China is fighting back and warning Brussels not to turn proposed cybersecurity rules into a de facto ban on Chinese companies.
The European Commission edict is not binding, at least for now, but it would increase pressure on European governments and telecom operators that still rely on Huawei or ZTE equipment in parts of their networks.
This latest warning to member states by the European Commission is not just another round in yearslong security fight targeting Huawei-ZTE. Europe has long stressed the need for a telecom security policy that addressed supply-chain risk and discipline.
The Commission’s warnings over Huawei and ZTE equipment are not binding, and land as Brussels considers broader rules that could give the bloc more power to restrict suppliers deemed high risk.
Europe has warned about Huawei and ZTE before. In 2023, the Commission said the two Chinese vendors posed “materially higher risks” than other 5G suppliers and urged member states to apply the EU’s 5G cybersecurity toolbox.
EU officials have framed the concern around espionage, sabotage and foreign government influence over critical infrastructure suppliers pressured by a rival government.
Huawei and ZTE have long denied that its telecom gear contains backdoors or pose a security threat. Beijing’s commerce ministry has long accused the EU of politicizing trade and “overstretching the concept of security,” warning that proposed rules around “high-risk suppliers” and “third countries posing cybersecurity concerns” could exclude Chinese companies across 18 sectors, including energy, transport and ICT.
According to the South China Morning Post, China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing could launch investigations or take reciprocal measures.
“If the EU designates China as a ‘country posing cybersecurity concerns’ or lists Chinese entities as ‘high risk suppliers’ to phase out equipment manufactured by Chinese businesses in a compulsory manner and exclude Chinese products and services from the EU market, China can launch relevant investigations into the EU or EU businesses, and take reciprocal measures,” The SCMP said in a quote from the state.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has spent years treating Chinese-made networking gear as more than a procurement risk. Federal restrictions on Huawei and ZTE equipment, combined with warnings about compromised routers and edge devices, reflect a broader concern that the hardware sitting at the edge of a network can become an intelligence foothold.
That same logic sits underneath the EU push: routers, radios and telecom gear are no longer just infrastructure. They are leverage.
Shaun Nichols is an IT news journalist. He has spent nearly 20 years covering the industry with a specialty in the cybersecurity
Photo by Zalfa Imani on Unsplash
