SMIC Photo: Xinhua

China strongly opposes US moves to abuse the national security concept by imposing a wide range of restrictions on Chinese firms without showing solid evidence, and such moves are an act of outright hegemony, China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The foreign ministry responded  to media reports saying that the Trump administration was considering adding Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) to a trade blacklist.

"What the US has done has stripped away the US' 'fIg leaf' of a self-proclaimed market economy and the principle of fair competition. It not only violates international trade rules, and disrupts global industry, supply and value chains, but also hurts the US' national interests and its image," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press meeting on Monday, urging the US to stop the wrongdoing.

Citing a US Defense Department official, Reuters reported on Saturday that the Trump administration was considering adding SMIC to a trade blacklist. The blacklist, once implemented, would force US suppliers to seek a license before selling products to SMIC.

The report quoted unidentified US officials as saying that SMIC's relationship to the Chinese military was under scrutiny, while it also noted that Pentagon official did not outline the reasons for the action.

In response, SMIC issued a statement over the weekend, stressing that it had not violated any laws and pushing back against accusations of ties with the Chinese military.

"SMIC is open to sincere and transparent communication with US government agencies in hope of resolving potential misunderstandings," the statement said, noting that it had maintained long-term strategic partnerships with multiple US-based semiconductor equipment suppliers and been fully compliant with all rules and laws.

The US Entity List has included more than 275 China-based firms to date, including Huawei and ZTE, becoming a tool for the Trump administration to relentlessly crack down on Chinese technology companies.

Global Times