Zhao Lijian Photo: VCG

The Trump administration has generalized the concept of national security, abused national power and repeatedly suppressed Chinese companies for no reason. China firmly opposes this, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday. 

The response came after the US Department of Defense (DOD) on Thursday classified nine Chinese companies, including phone maker Xiaomi and aircraft manufacturer COMAC as "Communist Chinese military companies." 

Also, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) said on Thursday that it has added two Chinese companies - aviation firm Skyrizon and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) - to two separate blacklists.

The relevant actions of the US go against historical norms, violate the market competition principles and international economic and trade rules that the US itself has always promoted, interfere with the normal economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and the US, discourage foreign companies' confidence in investing in the US, and will eventually damage US companies and the interests of investors, Zhao said. 

Zhao said that the history of US military-civilian integration policy can be traced back to before the First World War. The US government has always been the main driver of military-civilian integration policy.

What the Trump administration introduced once again shows the world what unilateralism is, what double standards are, and what bullying is, Zhao added. 

China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and support them in protecting their rights and interests in accordance with the law, Zhao noted. 

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi said Friday that the company confirms itself not to be a firm owned, controlled or linked to the Chinese military or a Chinese military firm as defined by the US National Defense Authorization Act.

Global Times