China today has urged Sweden to lift the ban on Chinese technology firms from its 5G network, as well as issue warnings about the consequences they would receive if they refused to do so.
Earlier, Swedish telecommunications operators had issued a ban yesterday requesting airlines to remove existing Huawei and ZTE equipment by 2025, on the grounds of national security concerns.
It is common knowledge that Chinese telecommunications companies have faced various bans and restrictions in recent months for fear of Beijing using them as a medium to spy on foreigners.
Following the issue, Beijing was accused of being furious and denied the allegations and stated that growing security concerns were being used as an excuse for successful technology companies to block them.
Next, China's foreign ministry has expressed its dissatisfaction with Sweden's decision and claimed that the Swedish government has openly suppressed Chinese telecommunications companies and politicized normal economic cooperation.
They therefore demanded that Sweden withdraw the decision to avoid a negative impact on China-Sweden economic and trade cooperation, and on the operations of Swedish companies in China.
Meanwhile, the decision was taken by Sweden when the United States urged its allies to stop any Huawei transactions from their internet infrastructure.
For example, Britain had banned mobile phone provider companies from using Huawei devices in the new 5G network in July, while France had imposed restrictions on the use of Huawei devices.
However, the ban has raised concerns that China will retaliate against Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson, which has 5G contracts with China's three major telecommunications operators.
