China slams EU over Huawei exclusion, calls it ‘presumption of guilt’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China said on Friday the EU does not have any evidence against the Chinese communication companies over the security concerns expressed by the bloc, calling it a “presumption of guilt.”

“The EU says that Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese communication companies have security risks but cannot produce any evidence, which is a typical presumption of guilt,” said Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a daily press briefing in ∂Beijing.

Beijing responded after the European Commission decided on Thursday that it will not use 5G telecom services provided by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE due to security risks.

Expressing “firm opposition” to the EU move, Wang “strongly urged” the EU to “abide by international economic and trade rules and refrain from suppressing other countries’ enterprises in the name of security,” reported Chinese daily Global Times.

“The security of networks is essential for all of us in Europe,” said Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for internal market, at a news conference on Wednesday, presenting the latest progress report on the EU’s 5G toolbox on cybersecurity.

The European Commission will “implement the 5G toolbox principle to its own procurement of telecom services to avoid exposure to Huawei and ZTE,” added Breton.

He also stressed that the EU executive body urges member states to speed up decisions “to replace high-risk suppliers from their 5G networks.”

The US, UK, Australia, Japan, India, and Canada have recently taken similar steps.