The European Union agreed on Thursday to partially drop its threat of action against Chinese telecommunications equipment makers, seeking to resolve years of tension over Chinas increasingly dominant mobile networks in Europe. European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in April last year that the European Commission planned to open an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy case against China, but would first seek to negotiate a solution with Chinese authorities. De Gucht said on Thursday that the European Commission had decided to drop the anti-dumping case threat, but not the threat of opening an investigation into illegal subsidies.