China urges U.S. to stop suppressing Chinese telecom companies

China on Thursday expressed firm opposition to the abuse of export control measures of the United States and urged U.S. lawmakers to stop the proposed bill targeting Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese telecommunications equipment companies.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying holds a press conference on Jan. 17, 2019. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the comments at a press briefing in response to some U.S. lawmakers' introduction of a bill that would ban exports of U.S. chips and components to Chinese telecom companies, such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, ZTE Corp or other Chinese firms.

"Such a move shows the extreme arrogance of certain U.S. lawmakers as well as their extreme lack of confidence," said Hua.

"It is obvious to all that the true intention of the U.S. side is to use all kinds of state apparatus to suppress and block Chinese hi-tech companies," Hua said.

China opposes U.S. abuse of the so-called export control measures and U.S. interference in normal trade activities of enterprises, Hua said. "We urge relevant U.S. lawmakers to stop suppressing Chinese enterprises, stop the relevant bill and do more to build mutual trust and cooperation between China and the United States."