He Yadong, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

China has consistently opposed the EU's abuse of unilateral tools such as the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) to suppress Chinese companies. China hopes the EU will work with China in the same direction, promptly correct its wrongful practices in FSR investigations, and strengthen communication through intergovernmental dialogue, Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong said on Thursday.

He Yadong made the remarks in response to a media inquiry for comment after China issued another prohibition order targeting the EU's cross-border investigative practices involving Chinese entities.

China will closely follow the EU's moves and take necessary measures to firmly safeguard national security and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, said He Yadong.

The spokesperson said that in May of this year, China issued its first prohibition order in the Nuctech case. More recently, in its investigation into JD.com, the EU again arbitrarily and unreasonably demanded that relevant banking institutions in China provide extensive amounts of information held within China that was unrelated to the investigation.

Following a thorough investigation, relevant Chinese government departments determined, in accordance with the rules on countering foreign states' unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction measures, that the EU's relevant cross-border investigative practices targeting Chinese entities in its FSR investigation into JD.com constitute unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction measures. They required that no organization or individual implement or assist in implementing such measures.

Global Times