BEIJING: China has dismissed a Wall Street Journal report suggesting that China is considering retaliation against two European telecom companies — Nokia and Ericsson — as “fake news” that is aimed at undermining the “good” China-EU relationship, saying China’s huge market will be open to European companies.

Retaliating against Sweden-based Ericsson and Finland-based Nokia are not only irrelevant in the rising tensions between China and the US-led so-called “Five Eyes” alliance over Huawei, but also runs counter to China’s opening-up policies, Chinese officials and industry insiders noted.