China refutes media reports claiming Beijing poses security threat to Sweden

The Chinese embassy in Stockholm condemned media reports that suggested that Sweden's ties with Beijing posed security threats to the country and termed the accusation by media totally "unjustified" and "deliberately hyped".

According to SCMP, a few days back, Swedish media reported that the agreements to establish a controversial satellite station in the country's north had been signed with the Chinese military.

To clarify, the embassy released a statement saying, "Such claims, without any factual support, are deliberately hyped up fabrications. They are totally irresponsible,"

The embassy also stated that accusations about China's "control" over telecommunications networks and infrastructure were "unjustified".

The tension between Sweden and China has been escalating for the last six months. Till now, China has issued two travel warning to its citizens about the risks of visiting Sweden. The first travel warning was issued on September 23 and expired on December 22, but it has been renewed and extended until March 22 because of "the security situation in Sweden".

Relations between the two sides further deteriorated after a group of Chinese tourists were removed from a Swedish hotel by police in September 2018.

However, Sweden is not the only country to scrutinize technology ties with China. Recently, Chinese technology giant Huawei has been barred from providing equipment for fifth-generation wireless networks in countries including the US, Japan, and Australia.