Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

 
The European Commission, disregarding the fundamental fact that Chinese companies provide safe and high-quality products, and ignoring the solid foundation and potential for cooperation between China and the EU in the field of digital networks, has engaged in political manipulation under the guise of security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday, when asked to comment on the EC's introduction of a new package of cybersecurity policy proposals that reportedly aims to phase out components and equipment from high-risk suppliers in critical sectors.

Some have commented that the concept of "high-risk suppliers" has a clear political motive, aiming to completely exclude Chinese companies from EU mobile communication networks under the pretext of security concerns. 

Commenting on the EU move, Guo said that this not only severely hinders the EU's own technological progress and economic development, but also seriously damages the EU's image of open markets and severely impacts the confidence of companies from various countries to invest in the EU. "We urge the EU to avoid going further down the wrong path of protectionism. Otherwise, China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Guo said.
 
Chinese companies have long operated in Europe in compliance with laws and regulations and have never jeopardized the national security of European countries, but have instead made a strong contribution to the development of Europe's telecommunications and digital industries, providing high-quality products and services to the European public, the spokesperson noted.

He said that imposing restrictions or even bans on companies' market participation on the basis of non-technical criteria, in the absence of any factual evidence, is a serious violation of market principles and fair competition rules. Such moves politicize and over-securitize normal business cooperation and amount to blatant protectionism, the spokesperson noted.

Arbitrary market intervention that runs counter to economic laws, Guo added, will not deliver so-called "security" but will come at a high cost. Facts have shown that some countries' forced removal of high-quality and secure equipment supplied by Chinese telecom companies has led to massive economic losses and severely hampered the development of local digital network industries, he said. 
 
Global Times