A newly appointed Italian government offered no relief to Chinese equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE, after deciding to maintain the previous administration’s stance regarding oversight of 5G deals involving the companies.

The new government took office yesterday (5 September) and wasted little time in confirming it would continue to use the country’s golden power to scrutinise any 5G supply deals involving non-European vendors, Reuters reported.

While apparently not a blanket ban on Huawei or ZTE, the move means the government will closely examine domestic operators’ 5G moves. To that end, it had already imposed special conditions on Vodafone Italia, Wind Tre and Huawei itself, Reuters stated, adding details of the stipulations were not disclosed.

The government is also lining up similar moves relating to supply deals between ISP Fastweb and ZTE, and agreements signed by wireless broadband provider Linkem. Incumbent Telecom Italia is also in the government’s sights, Reuters wrote.

Italy’s golden power grants the government the right to influence deals involving strategic sectors in the country. The previous administration approved the use of the legislation to oversee 5G contracts involving non-European suppliers in July, a move decried by Huawei Italy CEO Thomas Miao.

The increased scrutiny is a further blow to Huawei and ZTE at a time when the US continues to press other nations to halt dealings with the duo.

Details of Italy’s move came as Vietnam’s market leader Viettel revealed it would not work with Huawei on its 5G network due to fears over the security of its kit. Ericsson and Nokia are set to benefit from the decision.