Chinese Prime Minister to visit Europe, EU takes tough action against Huawei, ZTE

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on June 15 that Mr. Li will participate in the 7th round of China-Germany government consultations and pay an official visit to France.

Mr. Wang said that at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French government, Mr. Li will also attend the Summit on the New Global Financial Compact when he arrives in France.

Thủ tướng Trung Quốc sắp tới, EU dội gáo nước lạnh - Ảnh 1.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Germany and France from June 18 to 23. Photo: EPA-EFE

This will be Mr. Li's first foreign visit since being appointed Chinese Premier in March.

Beijing said choosing Germany as the first stop after Mr. Li took office reflected the importance of China's relationship with Germany.

Ahead of Mr. Li’s visit, the European Commission (EC) is increasing pressure on member states to stop using equipment from Huawei Technologies and ZTE in their most advanced mobile networks. The EC has for the first time labeled the companies “high-risk” suppliers.

As part of its efforts to crack down on Chinese equipment in critical infrastructure, the EC called on member states to phase out high-risk suppliers from telecommunications networks in new guidelines published on June 15.

The EC also banned the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment in its communications systems, Bloomberg reported. EU countries are facing increasing pressure from the US to take a tougher stance on China amid escalating competition for market share in technologies ranging from artificial intelligence to chips and quantum computing.

The latest EU guidance comes as countries including Germany and Spain continue to use products from Chinese equipment makers in their networks at levels the European Union (EU) has found unacceptable, people familiar with the matter said.

European Union Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton said at a press conference on June 15 that only 10 of the bloc's 27 member states have restricted or excluded high-risk suppliers since the commission issued 5G guidelines three years ago.

Spring Mai

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