In a big bolt for China, Sweden has banned the use of telecom equipment from Chinese technology behemoths Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network on security grounds, reports Reuters.

This comes merely weeks ahead of the spectrum auction being held by Sweden. Sweden's Post and Telecom Authority has given the companies which will be partaking in the said auctions time till 1 January 2025 to remove all Huawei and ZTE equipment from their existing infrastructure and core functions.

Also, it comes, after the nation's armed forces and security services had recently described China as "one of the biggest threats against Sweden".

Meanwhile, it should be noted that reacting to the ban by Sweden, China's telecom regulator issued a notice which pressed for stricter supervision of foreign telecoms companies in the country.

This gains significance as Sweden's Ericsson is Europe's leading telecom equipment supplier and the biggest rival to Huawei globally. Also, Ericsson has won orders from all of the three major telecom operators in China for the supply of radio equipment for 5G networks.

With this move, Sweden joins the list of European countries who have been tightening controls on Chinese companies building 5G networks as they fear that Huawei might be used by Chinese government to spy of them. Huawei, however, has repeatedly denied being a national security risk.