Beijing pledges to defend tech crown jewels against EU cyber rules

BRUSSELS — China’s government on Wednesday jumped to the defense of Huawei and other national technology champions against a new European Union proposal that seeks to kick risky Chinese suppliers out of Europe's most critical industries.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters on Wednesday the EU’s proposed Cybersecurity Act amounted to “blatant protectionism” and warned European officials that Beijing will take “necessary measures” to protect Chinese firms.

In response, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said Europe has allowed high-risk vendors from outside the European Union in strategic sectors for "far too long.”

The back and forth shows how the new Brussels proposal, unveiled Tuesday, threatens to trigger retaliation from Beijing at a sensitive moment, as the EU also faces the possibility of a trade war with the U.S. over Greenland.

But the EU push to block Chinese vendors could also help defuse tensions with Washington, which has urged European capitals to block Chinese vendors like Huawei for years. A new U.S. National Security Strategy released in December 2025 listed “encouraging Europe to take action to combat mercantilist overcapacity, technological theft, cyber espionage, and other hostile economic practices” as one of seven priorities for U.S. policy in Europe.

Brussels' new cyber bill is the latest in a wide-ranging series of initiatives by the EU to strengthen its “strategic autonomy” in sensitive technologies and industries, and de-risk its economies from trade shocks and economic coercion.

Just hours before the bill was revealed, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told global leaders in Davos that Europe faces a “necessity to build a new form of European independence” and needs to “fix the structural dependencies we have” — a comment directed both at Beijing and at Washington.

Under the cyber bill, the European Commission and EU capitals would name “countries of concern” they deem a cyber threat in sectors including telecoms, renewable energy, electricity, water, cloud services and security services.

Though the draft legislation itself does not name any specific countries or companies, it is widely seen as targeting China. 5G suppliers Huawei and ZTE are in the EU's immediate crosshairs, while other Chinese vendors are expected to be hit at a later stage. That could include airport scanner maker Nuctech, camera maker Hikvision, drone maker DJI and others.

The text still needs to be passed by national governments and the European Parliament before becoming law. Both are expected to make significant changes.

Chinese government spokesperson Guo said Beijing has “serious concerns” over the bill, state news agencies' reported. "Using non-technical standards to forcibly restrict or even prohibit companies from participating in the market, without any factual evidence, seriously violates market principles and fair competition rules," Guo said.

According to Tim Rühlig, a senior analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, Guo’s reference to “necessary measures” could be seen as a threat, but only a “vague one.”

It might be difficult for Beijing to directly hit back, Rühlig said. Europe is “indispensable” for China, Rühlig said, because China relies heavily on exports and the U.S. has effectively closed its market to Chinese sensitive tech. European firms meanwhile have a small market share of strategic tech in China, he added.

A Huawei spokesperson similarly said in response to the legislation that it “reserve[s] all rights to safeguard our legitimate interests.” The firm has a track record of suing governments in European courts.

This article has been updated.