A common European approach to managing risks from Chinese technology vendors is vital, but keeps being undercut by some capitals
The pushback by some European capitals against the proposed amendments to the EU’s Cyber Security Act is now well underway.
Last week, reporting by Bloomberg suggested that government officials from Spain and Germany are resisting the EU Commission’s plans to remove Chinese “high-risk” technology vendors from Europe’s critical infrastructure.
The proposed amendments, which would centralise powers within the Commission itself to assess, designate and restrict “high-risk” vendors in 18 sectors – an ambitious undertaking – will likely be challenging and costly for national governments to implement. In some strategic technologies, Chinese companies have surpassed their Western counterparts and sell superior products at a lower price.
Officials in European capitals also worry about economic retaliation by the Chinese government to protect its role in global technology supply chains.
