China slams US move to blacklist Chinese firms

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - China on Friday said it will “take all necessary measures” to protect its companies amid the US' move to blacklist several of them.

“China urges the US to stop unjustified crackdown on Chinese enterprises,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said addressing a news conference in Beijing, according to China’s state broadcaster CGTN.

“The US politicized economic and trade issues, which violates international trade rules,” Wang said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry official was reacting to media reports that Washington will “add dozens of Chinese companies, including the country’s top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, to a trade blacklist on Friday.”

“The US not only harmed the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also injured the interests of US companies,” Wang rued.

“Beijing will continue to take necessary countermeasures to ensure its companies' legitimate rights and interests,” he added.

“The US move is a latest example of the US using state power to crack down on Chinese companies.”

Meanwhile, Wang also said the 20th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs is “underway”.

Beijing and New Delhi are locked in a tussle along the Himalayan border in the Ladakh area of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region for the past several months.