China’s foreign ministry said that the US had to end the “unreasonable suppression” of Chinese firms like Huawei. Separately, a Chinese newspaper called for Beijing to retaliate against the US government.
Last week, US President Donald Trump advanced with his plans
to block global chip supplies to Huawei Technologies, sparking fears of
retaliation from China that may lead to tumbling shares of American
manufacturers of chipmaking equipment. Huawei is among China’s largest telecoms
equipment producers. The company was blacklisted by the US.
China’s foreign ministry stated that Beijing would defend its companies’ legal rights.
Local newspaper Global Times quoted a government official
who said that China was ready to apply countermeasures against the US,
including by putting American firms on an “unreliable entity list” and imposing
restriction on giants like Cisco, Apple, and Qualcomm. The source also talked
about blocking the purchase of Boeing airplanes. He said:
“China will take
forceful countermeasures to protect its own legitimate rights” if the US
continues with its plan to alter rules and block essential suppliers of chips from
selling chips to Huawei.
Besides the move against Huawei, the US Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said that it would delay plans to invest in a number of Chinese companies that are under supervision in the US.