China Says it Opposes U.S. Putting Its Firms on Security List

(Bloomberg) -- China said it firmly opposes the U.S. adding Chinese firms to a list of companies deemed a threat to national security, warning the move seriously violated international economic and trade rules.

The comments came from Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for China's commerce ministry, in response to a question about the Federal Communications Commission's move to place China Telecom (Americas) Corp and China Mobile International USA Inc. on the list.

The U.S. should stop politicizing economic and trade issues, Shu told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing Thursday.

The FCC placed five Chinese companies on the list last year, including Huawei Technologies Co., ZTE Corp. and Hytera Communications Corp. Federal subsidies can't be used to purchase equipment or services from a company once it's on the security list.

Shu urged the U.S. to provide a fair, stable and non-discriminatory market environment for all companies, while also vowing necessary countermeasures to safeguard the legitimate interests and rights of Chinese companies.

The commerce official also commented on recent statements from U.S. trade chief Katherine Tai who said the U.S. needs new tools to respond to China. Shu said the Chinese side hopes the U.S. will adopt a rational and pragmatic economic and trade policy toward China and meet China halfway.

“The U.S. should make its trade policies and practices in line with WTO rules, instead of adopting unilateralism and protectionism in the name of a new set of trade policies and practices,” she said. Chinese and U.S. trade teams are in normal communication, she added.

Tai said Wednesday it's time for the U.S. to forget about changing China's behavior, and instead focus on rebuilding the American industrial manufacturing base and making domestic investments to counter the Asian nation.

With assistance from Bloomberg