Huawei. Photo: VCG

 We urge the Swedish side to immediately correct this wrong decision [of rolling China’s Huawei and ZTE out of the 5G construction in Sweden], and hope the Swedish side will implement the principles of openness and the rule of law, instead of the slogan, which targets others, Chinese Ambassador to Sweden Gui Congyou said in a recent interview on Friday.
 
China hopes that Sweden will provide a fair, open, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies operating in Sweden, just like China’s approach to Swedish companies, Gui added.
 
Gui’s remark came against the background of Sweden banning Huawei and ZTE from 5G networks ahead of a spectrum auction in the 3.5-gigahertz band that is scheduled for November.
 
In a statement, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) said it had decided on licensing conditions after addressing assessments made by the Swedish Armed Forces and security services.
 
The Swedish military and relevant departments claimed that Huawei posed a "security threat," but they did not provide any factual basis. Huawei has long proposed that a "no backdoor" agreement can be signed, but the Swedish authorities have yet to respond, Gui said, “We urged the Swedish side to correct the wrongdoings. This is the only and correct way to solve this issue.”
 
Gui said in November that 5G is not a creation of Huawei, nor is it a solo sung by Huawei, adding that 5G has been brought to life via a cooperation between Huawei, Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia, and that forcing out any 5G company will make global 5G construction suffer, and that countries worldwide will pay the price.
 
Huawei stated it was “shocked and disappointed” at Sweden's 5G ban, adding that Sweden's accusations of a security threat have no factual basis, and hopes the government of Sweden will reevaluate its decision.
 
Global Times