Overview

• Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, reports that Chinese state-backed buyers are routing Ericsson and Nokia bids into opaque Cyberspace Administration of China security reviews.
• These “black box” assessments reportedly last three months or more and do not disclose evaluation criteria to the European suppliers.
• China’s 2022 cybersecurity law expanded CAC oversight, requiring critical infrastructure operators to submit detailed component and local-content documentation for potentially risky purchases.
• Dell’Oro Group data cited in the coverage shows Ericsson and Nokia’s combined China mobile-network share falling to about 4% in 2024 from 12% in 2020.
• Despite EU guidance to limit high‑risk vendors, only 10 of 27 member states have imposed restrictions, while Huawei and ZTE retain roughly 30–35% of Europe’s market and account for an estimated 59% of Germany’s installed 5G gear.