The European Union's trade chief will seek the backing of EU states to investigate Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, Reuters reports. The European Commission has been collecting evidence to prepare a possible case against Huawei and ZTE over state subsidies it says allows the companies to undercut European firms. EU trade investigations normally begin with a company complaint, but European manufacturers Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks have refused to cooperate with the Commission because of fears that they could be shut out of the growing Chinese market in retaliation, people familiar with the matter said.
As a result EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will sound out EU trade ministers on the issue at a meeting in Dublin this week, diplomats told Reuters. An internal EU report last year recommended that the EU should take action against Chinese telecoms equipment makers as their increasing dominance of mobile networks made them a threat to security as well as to home-grown companies.
