EU moves to mandate phase-out of Chinese gear from critical infrastructure

European Commission officials are preparing a proposal to convert the European Union’s existing voluntary restrictions on so-called high-risk vendors into mandatory rules for all member states, a move intended to accelerate the removal of Chinese-made equipment from sensitive infrastructure.

The proposed measures would explicitly target suppliers such as Huawei and ZTE and would bar their equipment from core telecom networks and specified solar energy systems. Implementation would be handled sector by sector, with timelines and deadlines to be set based on assessed risk, replacement costs and the availability of alternative suppliers, according to people briefed on the plan. No single, bloc-wide deadline has been specified.

Officials and industry figures say the proposal reflects mounting concern in Brussels about the security risks linked to certain foreign vendors and a desire to reduce dependence on single-source supply chains for critical technology. The shift from a voluntary regime to mandatory obligations aims to close gaps created when national governments adopted different approaches, and to provide a clearer legal footing for blocking high-risk equipment from critical national infrastructure.

The change faces practical and political headwinds. Major telecom operators in countries including Spain and Germany have previously resisted strict curbs on high-risk suppliers, citing the costs and complexity of replacing equipment already in service and the limited number of alternative vendors for some systems. Those concerns are likely to shape any staggered phase-out and could produce varied timetables across sectors and member states.

Cost considerations are pivotal. Replacing telecom or solar infrastructure can run into billions of euros and requires coordinated procurement, regulatory oversight and technical migration plans to avoid service disruption. European governments will have to weigh security gains against economic and operational disruption, particularly in regions where rollout of next-generation networks has lagged.

The proposal arrives in a geopolitical context where allied governments have taken divergent approaches to Chinese suppliers. The United States banned approvals of new Huawei and ZTE telecommunications equipment in 2022 and has long urged partners to adopt comparable measures. Separately, the future of a recently completed Huawei plant in eastern France has been flagged for review as some European governments harden their stance on Chinese kit and as 5G adoption in parts of Europe proceeds slowly.

Contemporaneous reporting also points to tensions on the China side of the tech ledger. Anonymous sources have told industry outlets that Chinese customs recently instructed agents not to permit imports of Nvidia H200 chips and that domestic firms were cautioned against buying the devices unless necessary. Those accounts say Nvidia had expected substantial orders from China and that suppliers were preparing shipments as early as March; the sources did not specify whether the customs instruction constitutes a formal ban or a temporary measure.

Key details remain unconfirmed and officials have not publicly issued formal texts or responses. The European Commission, China’s commerce ministry, Huawei and ZTE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. How Brussels balances security imperatives with economic costs, and how Beijing may respond, will determine whether the proposal brings a rapid unwinding of Chinese equipment from Europe’s networks or a protracted, sector-by-sector transition.