Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei will start building its mobile network equipment factory in France next year, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, quoted by News.ro.

The Chinese company has outlined plans for a plant with an initial investment of 200 million euros ($215.28 million) in 2020, but the launch has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a source said on Monday. She declined to be named because she is not authorized to comment on the matter.

The source did not say when the factory in Brumat near Strasbourg would be put into operation. Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. But a French government source told Reuters that Paris leaders expect the plant to open in 2025.

China claims to have received concessions for Huawei from the French government

Huawei made its move despite several European governments restricting or banning the use of equipment made by it and ZTE, another Chinese telecommunications company, citing security concerns.

European leaders are also discussing how to “de-risk” China, a strategy known in Western circles as “de-risking,” while maintaining cooperation with the world’s second-largest economy.

China is France’s third largest trading partner after the European Union and the United States. In 2020, the French government told telecom operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they would not be able to renew their equipment licenses after they expired, effectively excluding Huawei from mobile networks.

But after a meeting with French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire in Beijing in July, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said France had decided to expand Huawei’s 5G licenses to some cities.