Ericsson headquarters in Sweden. Photo: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Chris Houghton, senior vice president of Ericsson and for markets in Northeast Asia, told reporters through a video call at an event in Beijing on April 22: “Confrontation and increasing polarization Increasing will not make the world any safer. ” Global efforts to improve telecommunications technology have been supported by hundreds of companies over the years, adding that the role of “Chinese innovators cannot be ignored,” said Houghton. “. “Anything that restricts competition runs the risk of slowing down the industry,” he said. Market performance should be determined by the technical practices of the competitiveness of the different solutions. ” Ericsson has been campaigning for months against the Swedish government’s ban on Huawei. Earlier this week, in an interview with Chinese media outlet Caixin at the Boao Forum for Asia, President and CEO Ericsson Börje Ekholm said “geopolitics could endanger” cooperation. of the company with its Chinese counterparts, such as Huawei and ZTE, in setting unified global standards in the telecom industry. Ericsson is also concerned about the impact of the Sweden ban on Huawei equipment on its business in China. The company said in its 2020 financial report that Sweden’s sanctions against Huawei risk having an impact on its operations in the world’s second-largest economy. Last year, China was Ericsson’s second largest market after the US, contributing 8% of the company’s revenue – up from 7% in 2019. The company provides equipment and terminal services to national carriers. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, respectively, serve more than 350 million 5G mobile subscribers in China. According to data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China placed 5G at the top of its agenda to boost the digital economy, which houses 792,000 5G base stations by the end of February, making them the largest 5G network in the world. On April 22, Ericsson Vice President Sinisa Krajnovic, head of the company’s digital services division in Northeast Asia, said that there is still uncertainty about whether the company can fall victim to the stress. geopolitics or not. “When it comes to China, there are things we can control and things we cannot control,” said Mr. Krajnovic. He pointed out that countries like China, which invest early in 5G technology, are more likely to capture “competitive advantage” than latecomers. The administrative court in Stockholm on April 21 began hearing Huawei’s argument as to whether the Swedish authorities’ restrictions were legal. The Swedish Post and Telecommunication Authority decided in October last year to ban the world’s largest telecom equipment maker from supplying the country’s mobile network operators during its 5G rollout. them, on the grounds of security risk. The regulator also issued a similar ban on ZTE.

“Accordingly, people should only have close contact with people who live with them. If they have to meet another person, it is necessary to consider that the person may be carrying a disease”, Mr. Kohler explained further.

Dr Anders Tegnell, a Swedish epidemiologist, said: “The measures taken against corona virus are completely consistent with the epidemiological situation in Uppsala district. This provision is not much different from the Swedish government’s message that requires people to practice social distance and limit communication as much as possible ”.

Swedish residents passed by a bulletin board that read: “Danger is not over. Keep your distance,” in the center of Uppsala district. Photo: AFP.

Preventive measures have been introduced in the face of increasing recognition of new Covid-19 infections.

Uppsala County found an average of 908 cases per 100,000 people in the past week, higher than the average rate of new infections across Sweden with 772 cases. “Therefore, the new rules are absolutely necessary,” said Mikael Kohler.

Uppsala District has 2 universities, Uppsala University and Swedish Agricultural Science University. “A lot of young people come and come here. This is the main reason leading to the number of new infections continuing to increase here ”, Mr. Kohler added.

Some argue that the Swedish government has been “very passive” compared to neighboring countries in fighting the epidemic since it became a worldwide pandemic.

Sweden has strengthened quarantine measures since the second outbreak in October 2020, including limiting the concentration of people in stores and in public places. However, Sweden does not require complete isolation like Great Britain or France.

On April 13, Sweden recorded an average of 587 new infections per 1 million people in the last 7 days, mainly infected with virus variants from the UK. This figure far exceeds that of other countries in Europe, including France and Poland.