ZTE opened a new European cybersecurity center in Brussels as part of efforts to foster greater transparency for regulators and clients that still harbor concerns about the use of Chinese telecoms equipment in next-generation networks.

The move by the China-based vendor comes only two months after its larger domestic rival Huawei Technologies opened its Cyber Security Transparency Centre in the Belgian capital. At the time, Huawei said the cybersecurity center was designed to offer government agencies, technical experts, industry associations, and standards organizations “a platform, where they can communicate and collaborate to balance out security and development in the digital era.”

ZTE said its Cybersecurity Lab Europe will enable greater external scrutiny of its products, services, and processes, and facilitate cooperation in the area of security. It described the opening of the lab as “another important part of a transparency initiative of ZTE,” and noted that it has already opened two other cybersecurity centers in Nanjing and Rome.

The lab will provide a facility for third parties to review source code and carry out black box testing, for example. ZTE also stressed that the lab will play a “significant role” in guaranteeing the security of the company’s 5G solutions in the 5G era. Zhong Hong, ZTE’s Chief Security Officer, pointedly said that “security for the ICT industry cannot be guarded by one sole vendor, or by one sole telecoms operator. ZTE is willing to play an important role in contributing to the industry’s security along with its customers and all other stakeholders.”

The ability to support future 5G networks is certainly a driving force for Huawei and ZTE as they face growing international scrutiny over the alleged role their equipment could play as a conduit for Chinese espionage.

Huawei appeared to get a reprieve in recent weeks after President Donald Trump said that U.S. companies could continue to sell products to the China-based vendor, effectively reversing a ban imposed by the U.S. government on sales by U.S. companies to Huawei. However, it seems there will be continuing opposition by the U.S. government to the use of Huawei equipment in future 5G networks.

Furthermore, Huawei is now predicting revenues to come in around $30 billion less than forecast as a result of the U.S.-led campaign, representing a 6.5% decline from 2018’s results of $107 billion in revenue.

For its part, ZTE lost about $1 billion in projected sales after it was banned from buying components from U.S. vendors for a few months last year. The ban has since been lifted, but ZTE is still recovering from the impacts of the ban and associated fines. ZTE recently said it has secured 25 commercial 5G contracts and committed to 5G partnerships with 60 carriers around the world. That compares with Huawei’s reported 50 contracts to date, although rivals Ericsson and Nokia have placed emphasis on reporting contract signings with named carriers.