It's taken Europe 40 years to fix the worst parts of its dependence on Russian natural gas. Now it risks making the same mistakes with 5G and China. Gas shows us what comes next if Europe relies on China for 5G, but with higher risks, less time. My latest: https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/5g-energy-security/

Dependence on Russia for natural gas and on China for 5G are similar in five overarching ways:

1. Both 5G networks and natural gas have wide economic and societal reach and create security vulnerabilities for states and citizens alike.

2. Building 5G networks with Chinese companies or buying natural gas from Gazprom are situations in which commercial entities in democracies contract with entities beholden to authoritarian governments.

3. Both 5G networks and natural gas pipelines are long-term infrastructure investments in which dependence can beget dependence.

4. Both 5G networks and natural gas pipelines create dependencies that run contrary to strategic alliances, pitting EU member states against each other and fracturing the transatlantic alliance.

5. Both 5G networks and natural gas pipelines put political and business elites at risk of being coopted by hostile states.

What to do
- Watch out for hidden costs
- Set nuanced limits on high-risk vendors in the full 5G supply chain & future smart infrastructure
- Improve cooperation & financing for 5G security and smart tech at the EU, regional, and global levels
- Address unfair competition