China is curbing the use of European telecom kit suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in its networks as President Xi Jinping pushes to decouple the country’s critical tech infrastructure from the west. Two people familiar with the matter said Chinese state-backed buyers of IT equipment — which include mobile network operators, utilities and other industries — have begun more closely analysing and policing foreign bids. That process has required contracts by Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia to be submitted for “black box” national security reviews by the Cyberspace Administration of China where the companies are not told how their gear is assessed. The reviews by the powerful tech watchdog can stretch three months or longer. Even in cases where the European groups ultimately secure approval, the lengthy and uncertain audits often leave them at a disadvantage to Chinese rivals that face no such scrutiny, the people said.

Full report : China curbs the use of European suppliers Nokia and Ericsson in its telecoms networks, requiring lengthy national security reviews for their contracts.