Alex Webb, Columnist

Huawei’s Rivals Should Be Happy They’re Not American

Swedish telecoms supplier Ericsson has been able to retain access to the Chinese market. That’s been a boon for sales.

October 21, 2020 at 11:00 PM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

The future.
Photographer: VCG/Visual China Group

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The advent of 5G networks has accentuated U.S. concerns about lacking a domestic rival to the mighty Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

Yet the Chinese telecoms equipment maker’s main competitors, Ericsson AB and Nokia Oyj, have good reason to be relieved that they are domiciled in Sweden and Finland respectively. President Donald Trump’s administration has spent much of the past two years cajoling other countries into banning gear made by Huawei from their networks. Had the two Nordic firms been U.S.-based, they would likely have been subject to retaliatory bans in China.