Economic Cooperation

Ministry wants India to be fair

By Wang Xing and Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-18 12:53

BEIJING - China on Monday urged the Indian government to provide a fair and transparent investment environment for Chinese telecommunications firms and called for talks between the governments.

The remark followed India's earlier move to stop approving imports of Chinese telecom equipments from companies such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp, citing national security concerns.

Yao Jian, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said India should not discriminate against Chinese telecom products.

"Any rule should be fairly applied to all companies including Indian, Chinese and Western companies," Yao said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday.

He said India should provide an open, fair and transparent environment for Chinese companies.

India's government has ordered ZTE and Huawei Technologies to disclose full details of their ownership within a month, amid concerns the Chinese telecommunications equipment makers may have embedded spying technology in their products, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, which failed to cite its sources.

A ZTE spokesperson said the company could not confirm the Wall Street Journal report. "But we are a publicly listed company and have a clear ownership," the official said. Huawei Technologies refused to comment.

Earlier this month, media reports said India had suspended the approval of imports of Chinese telecom equipments since the first quarter of this year.

Yao said that existing contracts won by Chinese companies in India should be allowed to proceed. He also said the two countries "should increase their consultation and cooperation to address problems".

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According to research firm Analysys Mason, Huawei's revenue in India reached $2.4 billion last year, accounting for about 10 percent of its total income. ZTE's revenue in India was between $0.8 billion to $1 billion during the period, the research firm said.

Kunal Bajaj, partner and director of Analysys Mason's India business, said the Indian government's decision to stop imports of telecom equipment from China will have a major impact on both Huawei and ZTE. "For the time being the situation looks grim," he said.

Jurgen Walter, business solutions head of Nokia Siemens Networks, which competes with Huawei and ZTE, refused to comment on the possible impact on the company's business if its Chinese rivals were unable to do business in India.

He said the Indian requirements on imports apply to everyone and his company is not competing with regulations but with the best products and services.

Yao said that China is in talks with the Indian government and hopes the issue can be resolved soon.