Nokia, Ericsson face retaliation if EU bans Huawei

CHINA is considering retaliating against telecom gear makers Nokia and Ericsson if the European Union follows the United States and Britain in banning Huawei Technologies from 5G networks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Britain last week ordered telecom operators not to purchase 5G components from Huawei from the end of this year and remove all existing gear made by the Chinese telecom behemoth from the 5G network by 2027. Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia are among the most immediate beneficiaries of the U.S.-led campaign against Huawei. China’s Ministry of Commerce is looking into export controls that would prevent Nokia and Ericsson from sending products it makes in China to other countries, the Journal reported. The retaliation would be a worst-case scenario that China would use only if European countries came down hard on Chinese suppliers and banned them from their 5G networks, one person told the Journal.

10,000 tons of frozen pork to be sold

CHINA will sell 10,000 tons of frozen pork from its State reserves Thursday, said the China Merchandise Reserve Management Center on its website yesterday.

China has already sold about 420,000 tons of pork from reserves so far this year to tame pork prices that have soared after the deadly African swine fever decimated the domestic pig herd.

Vodacom, Alipay to create ‘super app’

VODACOM Group plans to create a “super app” in partnership with digital payment provider Alipay, part of China’s Alibaba Group, to allow consumers in South Africa to shop online, pay bills and send money to family from next year.

The app will also help small-to-medium enterprises access financial services such as lending and insurance, the two companies said in a joint statement Monday.

Yum China named as sponsor for Beijing Olympics

YUM China Holdings Inc. was named as an official retail food services sponsor for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the KFC operator in China said Monday.

Yum China’s brands, including KFC and Pizza Hut, will be on site at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing. The company, a licensee of Yum Brands Inc. on the Chinese mainland, was also named as an official sponsor of the Chinese Olympic Committee through the end of 2024.