Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry Photo: cnsphoto

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US to stop generalizing the concept of national security and politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade issues, after reports of the US' plan to remove some Chinese firms from a red flag trade list.

The Biden administration plans to remove some Chinese entities from the so-called unverified list soon, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday evening, citing a US official. The unnamed US official said that the plan is due to "greater willingness" from the Chinese side to permit US site visits, Reuters reported.

Asked to comment on the reported move at a regular press conference on Thursday, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that "I would refer you to the competent authorities for specific questions. As a matter of principle, I want to tell you that China's position on relevant issues is consistent and clear."

China urges the US to end discriminatory and unfair measures against specific Chinese companies, and China will continue to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, Wang stressed.

China has been repeatedly calling on the US to stop targeting Chinese companies, amid media reports over the past week of the US mulling more sanctions against Chinese businesses.

During a regular press conference on Wednesday, Wang said that the US has repeatedly stretched the concept of national security and has been abusing export control measures to block and hobble foreign firms.

It is pure economic coercion and sci-tech bullying, Wang noted, responding to news report that the US plans to add more than 30 Chinese companies to its trade blacklist.

According to Bloomberg, these Chinese companies will be placed on a trade blacklist that would prevent them from buying certain American components.

Wang also noted on Wednesday that China will firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, commenting on a US bill that reportedly aims to restrict Chinese tech companies such as Huawei Technologies from accessing US banks.

"If the US breaks international rules, it will come back to bite itself and eventually shoot itself in the foot," said Wang.

In fact, China is not the only victim of US trade crackdowns. During a WTO meeting held on Wednesday in Geneva reviewing US trade policy, representatives from China, Russia, the EU and other parts of the world harshly criticized the US for adhering to "America first," ignoring multilateral trade rules, practicing unilateralism, promoting "decoupling and industrial chain breaking," and disrupting the global industrial chain.

"All parties have rejected the unilateralism and protectionism of the US. The US has become a destroyer of the multilateral trading system, a manipulator of double standards in industrial policy, a disrupter of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and a perpetrator of unilateral bullying," said Wang on Wednesday.

Global Times