• 5G: Beijing attacks London and promises sanctions on Trump
  • 5G: breakthrough by the British government, Huawei excluded. The company's response: Kingdom will lag behind

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July 21, 2020 A new chapter in the trade war between Washington and Beijing could have repercussions in Europe. China would be considering imposing trade restrictions on the activities of European companies Ericsson and Nokia in the country.

The restrictions would start if the European Union were to ban Huawei from participating in the construction of 5G networks in member countries, as the Trump administration would like. The Wall Street Journal reports, pointing out that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce is also considering adding controls to ban the export of Ericsson and Nokia equipment manufactured in China to third countries. A source told the WSJ that the sanctions would only trigger in the worst case scenario, that is, following any restrictions on Chinese participation in the 5G infrastructure under construction.

The risk of a 'London effect'
In recent days, China had severely condemned the UK's decision to exclude Huawei from participating in the implementation of 5G network infrastructures in its territory, reviewing the plans already established, and the representative of the Ministry of Commerce, Gao Feng, had announced that Beijing would have taken the "necessary measures" to protect their businesses.

Nokia and Ericsson have won bids for small shares of 5G single deals from the country's three mobile operators. Both European companies manufacture some equipment in China, and WSJ sources say they could circumvent export controls by moving production elsewhere.