The European Commission (EC) is holding back on a controversial trade case against Chinese vendors until after China Mobile has awarded a lucrative 4G contract, according to the Financial Times.

EC Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht (pictured) is prepared to sideline the anti-subsidy case if European companies receive a decent share of the China Mobile contract, according to officials.

The award from the country’s largest operator could account for “as much as half of global telecoms investment next year”, said the report.

The telecoms case has moved up the political agenda in Brussels after the EU and China reached agreement last week in a separate dispute over the import of Chinese solar panels into Europe.

The EC took “a decision in principle” in May to investigate telecoms imports from the likes of Huawei and ZTE. De Gucht has threatened to open the investigation on his own rather than requiring a complaint from a European vendor.

Leading vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent have been unwilling to make complaints because of fear it might damage their interests in China, according to previous reports.

Huawei and ZTE have denied receiving illegal subsidies.

In January, China complained to EU member states that the trade commissioner had pushed for at least 30 per cent of China’s telecoms market for European vendors. At the time, the commissioner’s spokesman said there had either been a misrepresentation or misunderstanding of what he said.

De Gucht’s postion might be undermined by lukewarm support from member states, as happened with last week’s solar case which forced him to settle with the Chinese government.