BERLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Germany does not want to follow the United States in blanket bans on products made by Chinese telecoms equipment makers such as Huawei, but will continue to take such decisions on a case-by-case basis. case, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy. said Friday.
Berlin’s relationship with Beijing has come under scrutiny since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which exposed Germany’s economy’s reliance on Russia for energy and made officials wary of a similar reliance on China for trade.
Germany has come under particular pressure to take action against Chinese telecoms equipment makers after the US administration this week banned new equipment approvals from Huawei and ZTE (000063.SZ) because they exhibit “an unacceptable risk” to US national security.
A strategy document from Germany’s economy ministry seen by Reuters on Thursday detailed recommendations to increase the level of control over the use of components from certain states.
The document mentions legislation introduced in Germany in 2020 that poses high barriers to manufacturers of telecommunications equipment for next-generation networks, such as Huawei.
Under this legislation, individual IT components or entire companies can be banned and declared unreliable if vendors make false claims, fail to support security audits, or fail to promptly report or fix vulnerabilities.
The 104-page policy document suggests going further, authorizing the banning of components and products made by suppliers to authoritarian states for telecommunications and IT as well as other critical infrastructure such as transport or the supply of water and food.
When asked if he expected tougher rules or even a ban in Germany or the European Union, Huawei told Reuters on Friday that he relied on a constructive and facts.
“Secure use of networks is independent of a provider’s country of origin and can only be guaranteed through global standards of international cooperation between industry and regulatory authorities,” Huawei said.
Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Written by Miranda Murray and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Rachel More and Peter Graff
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