As reported by Ukrinform, this was reported by Politico.

“Technology from Chinese companies must be removed immediately, at least from the core of our critical IT infrastructure,” said Mike Ausendorff, MP for Greens and digital policy expert.

According to him, Germany in general should reconsider private sector cooperation with companies of autocratic states.

It was noted that the need to break free from dependency on Chinese telecommunications companies emerged after a report showed that German operators had recently purchased large volumes of 5G equipment from suppliers in China.

The departure from Huawei corresponds to a change in the attitude of the German coalition government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, towards China. Scholz said it is important to ensure the competitiveness of European manufacturers such as Nokia and Ericsson, in connection with the creation of the next generation 6G by tech companies.

In November, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced the country’s desire to reduce its reliance on China in the telecommunications and microchip sectors, which the politician found particularly problematic. That same month, Habek officially banned Chinese investors from buying German chip factories.

Following the discovery of Germany’s dependence on energy in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Berlin is critically assessing the country’s dependence on Chinese telecommunications companies.

According to consulting firm Strand Consult, Chinese suppliers, and Huawei in particular, provided about 60% of the new 5G infrastructure in Germany.

In April 2021, the German government took steps that allowed telecommunications operators to interfere with their contracts with Chinese suppliers, but such actions were not implemented in practice.

As Ukrinform reported, at the end of January, the US banned the sale of most modern technologies to Huawei.