Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

China is firmly against some people's moves to deliberately overstretch the concept of national security to wear down Chinese enterprises, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, in response to the UK government's prohibition of Chinese cameras in government buildings citing security concerns.

"We are keeping a close eye on how things will develop. The Chinese government will firmly defend Chinese businesses' legitimate and lawful rights and interests," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

She added that the Chinese government always encourages Chinese companies to carry out foreign trade and investment cooperation in line with local laws as well as market principles and international rules.

The remarks came after the British government told its departments to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras in sensitive buildings, citing security risks, reported Reuters. 

The decision comes after a review of "current and future possible security risks associated with the installation of visual surveillance systems on the government estate," cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden said in a written statement to parliament.

One of the video surveillance companies in question, Hikvision, denied the claims, saying it will further seek to engage with British authorities to understand the decision. "Hikvision cannot transmit data from end-users to third parties, we do not manage end-user databases, nor do we sell cloud storage in the UK," a company spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

Another affected company, Dahua, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday when reached by the Global Times.

"This is a suppression of China's digital technology," Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Friday. 

The UK is one of the countries with the most cameras on its streets, especially the city of London, and is now looking for reasons not to use Chinese security identification technology and equipment, Wang said. The reason behind it is that the UK is increasingly showing its value after Brexit and emphasizes its relationship with the US more, he added. 

Last week, the UK blocked a Chinese company's acquisition of an indebted semiconductor wafer factory. 

UK Business Minister Grant Shapps issued a notice requiring Chinese electronics company Wingtech Technology Co's Netherlands-based subsidiary Nexperia to sell at least 86 percent of its shares in its semiconductor wafer factory in South Wales, known as Newport Wafer Fab, citing so-called national security risks related to "technology and know-how that could result from compound semiconductor activities at the site, and the potential for those activities to undermine UK capabilities."

It has shown a clear trend of Europe following the US and increasing its pressure on Chinese companies, as there are some British politicians who also adopt a hostile attitude toward China, Bai Ming, deputy director of the international market research institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Friday. 

Mutual investment between enterprises of the two countries is a normal commercial activity and should not be politicized or interfered with. The UK's relevant actions will only damage its credibility and its own interests in the end, Bai warned.