Ericsson’s Backing Huawei Shows How Companies Become ‘Hostages’ to the CCP
Commentary
Telecommunication giant, Ericsson, did not enjoy the benefits of a ban of its rival, Huawei, in Sweden, instead, it has been asking its government to reconsider the ban; analysis suggested the profits gained from the Chinese market left the company susceptible to coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
As the United States and the UK led the campaign to exclude CCP military-related companies from deals with 5G networks globally, the top beneficiary of that decision, Sweden’s Ericsson, reported net profits (pdf) soared to SEK 17.6 billion ($2.1 billion) in 2020 versus SEK 1.8 billion ($215 million) in 2019.