(Telecompaper) The EU will hold off taking a decision on whether to launch a trade case against Chinese equipment makers until after China Mobile selects winners for a huge contract to build its 4G network, the Financial Times reports. Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, is inclined to bury the case, according to unnamed officials, if European companies are awarded a healthy share of the China Mobile project, which is expected to account for as much as half of global telecoms investment next year. De Gucht has previously told member states he had gathered "solid evidence" that Beijing had supplied illegal subsidies to China's largest network equipment manufacturers, Huawei Technologies and ZTE. He won backing, "in principle", from fellow commissioners in May to formally open the case. He took a softer line last week, expressing "hope that the solution we found in the solar panels case will set the tone for [other cases]". Nokia Siemens Networks, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent are all vying for a share of the China Mobile tender, which will entail building and servicing an estimated 200,000 4G base stations across China. Huawei and ZTE, which have repeatedly denied receiving illegal subsidies, are also competing. The results are expected in early September, although previous deadlines have slipped.