China is not happy with Germany. The current German government is currently facing a wave resistance from certain lawmakers who are challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s with a bill that would effectively impose a wide ban on “untrustworthy” 5G vendors. A ban that would, unsurprisingly, include Huawei and its 5G telecommunications equipment.
According to Bloomberg, Wu Ken, China’s ambassador to Germany threatened the European nation, saying that his government “will not stand idly by” if the country decided to take actions that would “exclude” Huawei from its market. Speaking to an audience in Berlin, ambassador Wu indirectly hinted that China’s target could be Germany’s automobile sales in China, which reportedly accounts for 25% of the 28 million cars sold in the country last year.
For the uninitiated, China is the single biggest market of German automotive brands. And include brands like Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler AG, the principal brand behind Mercedes Benz.
Amidst the global wave of anti-China sentiment and the ongoing trade war between the US and China, Germany remains one of the few European countries and US allies that has defied its American ally in enforcing a 5G ban on Chinese 5G telecommunications vendors like Huawei and ZTE. Keep in mind, this is despite the recent fact that both countries recently came to a somewhat unclear trade agreement.
(Source: Bloomberg)
