EU Plans to Protect Telecommunications Market From Chinese Imports Failing

Beijing is not abiding by its 2014 agreement with the European Union by failing to fund an independent commission for monitoring telecommunications equipment markets and rejecting EU demands to staff the panel with people not linked to the Chinese government, according to local media.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union's plan on protecting its telecommunications equipment market from China's Huawei and ZTE companies is failing as China evades abiding to the EU-Chinese deal aimed at helping European telecommunications equipment manufacturers, media reports said Friday.

Beijing is not abiding by its 2014 agreement with the European Union by failing to fund an independent commission for monitoring telecommunications equipment markets and rejecting EU demands to staff the panel with people not linked to the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an EU official.

The panel, which would monitor dumping practices and ensure European access to the Chinese market, has yet to be set up, while EU companies, such as giants Ericsson and Nokia, remain unprotected by tariff barriers fending of potentially dumped Chinese imports, according to the publication.

Under the 2014 deal, the European Union dropped its previous threats of imposing telecommunications tariffs on Chinese imports in exchange for China agreeing to contain its advances into the European market.

The European Union has previously accused China of dumping practices in the telecommunications equipment market, toning the allegations down in 2014 in favor of dialogue. In contrast, the United States has mostly closed its market to Huawei, claiming that the company's equipment could be used by the Chinese government to spy on the United States.