The Chinese Foreign Ministry said: Sweden should cancel the ban it imposed on Huawei and ZTE from the planned auction of 5G spectrum, in order to avoid “negative impact” on its companies.

On Tuesday, the Swedish Post and Communications Authority banned the use of companies participating in the auction scheduled for next month of products from Huawei and ZTE.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Li Keqiang said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Wednesday: “Sweden should adhere to an objective and fair position, and correct its wrong decision, to avoid negative impact on economic and trade cooperation between China and Sweden and the operations of Swedish companies in China.”

The Swedish Post and Communications Authority said: It followed the advice of the country’s armed forces and security apparatus, which described China as “one of the biggest threats against Sweden.”

European governments have tightened controls on Chinese companies that build fifth-generation networks after diplomatic pressure from Washington, which alleges that Beijing may use Huawei equipment for espionage. Huawei has repeatedly denied that it poses a national security risk.

In July, the United Kingdom ordered Huawei to completely remove British 5G networks by 2027, becoming one of the first European countries to do so.

On a separate note, Huawei launched its new Huawei Y7a phone on Wednesday, which comes to join the Y series, which belongs to the category of mid-spec phones.