China and Russia are closer than ever. So why is Ukraine relying on Chinese tech firms?

To be a part of the West and develop a new defense industrial base, Ukraine will need secure and resilient defense and critical infrastructure from trustworthy sources to protect against Russia. It will be difficult for Western partners to share critical technologies with the Chinese-tied platforms that Ukraine currently uses.

Ukraine needs to end its dependence on Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked tech companies, including Huawei and ZTE. Given Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow and China’s clear “lean” towards Russia, the incentives for Ukraine to de-couple from China should be high.

Ukraine has a strong technology sector. In fact, because it operates in cyber space and is largely mobile, the industry exceeds pre-war levels. Tech services exports from Ukraine were a record $3.7 billion between January and July 2022, the latest numbers available. This number is only expected to grow as Ukrainian companies continue to provide services in cybersecurity, software development, UI/UX design, AI/ML and cloud services.

Unfortunately, much of Ukraine’s tech sector depends on CCP-linked tech companies. Huawei has played a key factor in the rollout of Ukraine’s 2G and 3G broadband networks. Through its low-priced yet high-quality software and equipment, Huawei increased Ukraine’s mobile broadband penetration from 8 percent to 65 percent between 2016 to 2019 and was selected by the government to install a 4G network within Kyiv’s subway systems.

Outside of internet connections, Huawei has played a role in Ukraine’s cybersecurity through its educational and scientific partnership with Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and its research and development centers in Ukraine. This needs to end.

ZTE, a partially state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, has also had significant influence in Ukraine’s technology sector. Since 2003, the company has worked closely with major Ukrainian telecom operators and enterprises, such as Ukrtelecom, Ukraine’s largest fixed broadband operator, to promote 4G/LTE and Pre-5G network services across the Ukrainian market.

A future Ukraine tied to the West should ban China’s Huawei and ZTE products from their country. In November 2022, the United States government banned the selling and importing of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies due to the national security risks they pose.

Specifically, the U.S. government is concerned about Huawei’s 5G equipment being used by the Chinese government to spy on Americans, as these companies are required by Article 77 of the State Security Law to work with their government. This ban follows a previous ban by the Trump administration, which prohibited the U.S. government from using equipment from Huawei and ZTE. 

In addition to banning Chinese telecommunication companies from Ukraine, Ukraine needs a “friend” and “not friend” list of countries for any future reconstruction work based on who has stood with Ukraine since the war. This list should be used for contracts in any reconstruction. Countries that have not helped Ukraine should be banned from reconstruction work and de-emphasized as trading partners. 

China is supporting Russia’s war effort and is not Ukraine’s friend. At the international level, China abstained from the UN Security Council’s resolution to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China was the sole supporter of Russia’s draft resolution that called attention to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine but denied Russia’s role as the aggressor. 

China voted against a UN resolution to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, and abstained from the UN resolution for Russia to stop its “attempted illegal annexation” of four Ukrainian regions. China also sided against a UN resolution for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine. China has also supported Russia’s opposition to using the term “war” in the G20 communique when describing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the G20 Summit in November. Finally, China’s oil purchases are financing Russia’s war machine killing Ukrainians. Given all of this, why is Ukraine still using Huawei and ZTE? 

Mainland China should face commercial consequences from Ukraine, and its companies should be treated accordingly now and in the future. It’s in Ukraine’s best interest to spend 2023 devising a digital strategy that does not include Chinese state-owned entities like Huawei and ZTE.

Ukraine is on its way to becoming a major security ally of the U.S. and the West. It may join NATO, and if it does, it will need access to critical defense technologies and intelligence. But that will be impossible if Ukraine’s digital backbone is run by China. 

Daniel F. Runde is a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also the author of the book “The American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership Through Soft Power” (Bombardier Books, 2023).