China opposes US threats against tech companies

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday firmly opposed U.S. threats against relevant Chinese tech companies, urging the U.S. side to stop politicizing economic issues and abusing the concept of national security.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly said that the Trump administration planned to take action on what it saw as a broad array of national security risks presented by some Chinese software companies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that the U.S. side made the threats against relevant companies based on the presumption of guilt and without any evidence.

Such moves would run counter to the principles of a free-market economy and violate the WTO principles of openness, transparency, and non-discrimination. They also revealed the U.S. hypocrisy in so-called "upholding fairness and freedoms" and its typical double standards, Wang said at a press briefing.

"We call on those in the United States to heed the voices from the international community, provide an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for market entities of other countries to invest and operate in the United States, stop politicizing trade and economic issues, and stop promoting discrimination and policies of exclusion through abusing the concept of national security," said Wang.