[Source: Reuters Business]

China firmly opposes some EU countries’ ban on Huawei and said the European Commission has no legal basis nor factual evidence to prohibit the Chinese telecom giant, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.

ZTE, also singled out by EU industry chief Thierry Breton as a high-risk vendor, criticised the move to ban its equipment in the Commission’s network and in EU countries.

Breton on Thursday urged more EU countries to join the 10 that have restricted or banned Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE from their 5G telecoms networks, citing risks to the bloc’s collective security.

He said both companies will also be banned from EU-funded projects.

Huawei has criticised the move saying this was not based on a verified, transparent, objective and technical assessment of 5G networks.

Publicly singling out an individual entity as a high-risk vendor without a legal basis is against principles of free trade, a Huawei spokesperson said.

Several countries including Germany have been slow to implement the EU’s security measures for 5G networks agreed three years ago to curb the use of “high-risk vendors” such as Huawei due to concerns about possible sabotage or espionage.

Telecom operators across Europe have been using Huawei gear because they were cheaper than rivals’ and work as well, making it difficult for companies to choose costlier options.