EU's Jozef Sikela warns Vietnam’s Huawei, ZTE 5G deals could cause data security fears

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela warned on Tuesday that Vietnam’s growing business with Huawei and ZTE on 5G could make foreign investors nervous about putting money into the country.

Speaking in Hanoi during an EU-Vietnam investment forum, Jozef said the issue is not that European companies are absent, because Ericsson and Nokia are still very much developing the core 5G network in Vietnam.

But in recent months, Vietnamese state-owned operators have also handed 5G contracts to Chinese rivals Huawei and ZTE. That is a real change after years of caution toward China in sensitive areas. Western officials have noticed it. Their concern is simple: when the network is strategic, the vendor is strategic too.

EU warns investors may pull back as Vietnam adds Chinese vendors to key 5G contracts

Asked about the Chinese contracts, Jozef said, “Be careful with dependencies in strategic areas.” He then put the warning in even harder terms.“5G is the new battlefield.” He said a network gives access to a lot and control over a lot, and that countries must be careful about who they trust to supply that technology.

Jozef added, “If investors have doubts about the security of their data, they might decide not to take the risk and not to invest.”

Meanwhile, research from Mordor Intelligence says the market is expected to grow from $33.4 billion in 2025 to $39.63 billion in 2026.

By 2031, it is projected to reach $93.05 billion. That would mean a compound annual growth rate of 18.66% over the forecast period. Those numbers show why governments, telecom operators, and investors are treating 5G as more than just another tech upgrade.

The growth is thanks to a rise in usage across smartphones, cars, industrial IoT, and smart city systems.

The companies listed in the market include Qualcomm, MediaTek, Samsung Electronics, Huawei Technologies, Nokia, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductors, and Infineon Technologies.

All in all, Asia-Pacific still leads the 5G chipset market, as China, Japan, South Korea, and India are all expanding 5G infrastructure while also investing in domestic chip capacity, according to data from Index Box.

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