An ad promoting 5G at the booth of China Telecom at the fifth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, East China's Hangzhou Province on November 7. Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday urged the US to cease its unreasonable crackdown on Chinese firms to build a fair and non-discriminatory business climate for Chinese firms investing and operating in the US, in response to the US' unwarranted China Telecom allegation.

"China firmly objects to the US' move," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing on Friday, noting that the Chinese government has always asked Chinese companies operating in other countries to comply with local laws, regulations and market principles.

"We urge the US to comply with market economy principles and stop its abuse of national security and politicizing economic issues. It should cease its unreasonable crackdown on Chinese firms so as to build a fair and non-discriminatory business climate for Chinese firms investing and operating in the US," he said.

The comment followed the US Justice Department and other government agencies on Thursday urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to retract its authorization for the US branch of China Telecom to offer international telecommunications services to and from the US, Reuters reported.

The agencies cited "substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with the firm's operations."

China Telecom has unequivocally denied the allegation. The company said it "has always been extremely cooperative and transparent with regulators. In many instances, we have gone beyond what has been requested to demonstrate how our business operates and serves our customers following the highest international standards."

Ma Jihua, a Beijing-based tech industry analyst, told the Global Times on Friday that the US' unwarranted move is part of "premeditated and planned" scientific war against China, which has been disrupted by the global pandemic. 

"If the US insists on suppressing Chinese companies, it will definitely illicit countermeasures from the Chinese government," Ma said.

It is not the first time the US has cracked down on a Chinese telecommunications company without proof of wrongdoing. In May 2019, the FCC denied China Mobile's services application filed early in 2011, citing "national security concerns."

Four months later, two US senators asked the FCC and national security agencies to review two other Chinese carriers - China Telecom and China Unicom.

The moves have more political effect on China-US relations than on the firms' business, as the carriers' presence in the US is not large, mainly offering international roaming telecoms services for their users traveling to the US, Xiang Ligang, a veteran telecoms industry analyst in Beijing, told the Global Times on Friday.

US politicians tend to suppress Chinese enterprises using "national security" as an excuse, Xiang said, noting, "US politicians try to divert the general public's criticism of them, brought by US domestic conflicts and economic woes, to China so as to relieve their own pressure."