Beijing slams US move to bar China Telecom

Beijing on Friday expressed opposition to Washington's threat to cut off China Telecom from serving the US market, urging the United States to stop unreasonably suppressing Chinese companies.

Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a daily news briefing on Friday that China demands the US government abide by market rules, stop stretching the concept of national security, and politicizing economic issues.

The comments came after several US government departments urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke China Telecom's license to provide international telecommunications services to and from the US.

Zhao said that China urged the US government to provide a level playing field for Chinese enterprises to invest and operate there.

The Chinese government always asks China's enterprises to carry out international economic cooperation under market rules and according to law, the spokesperson said, while adding the government also requires them to abide by local laws and regulations.

China Telecom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company's US unit has held the license to provide services in the US since 2007.

The action against China Telecom is the latest move by Washington to restrict Chinese telecom companies from offering services in the United States.

Last May, the FCC denied the request of another State-owned Chinese telecom company, China Mobile, to provide services in the United States.

Huawei Technologies Co, another Chinese telecom giant, has also been restricted from buying US technology products since last May.

A string of US departments have worked to ban Huawei from selling 5G telecom equipment to US telecom operators and smartphones to American consumers.

Bai Ming, a senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the US government has been abusing the national security concept to contain the rise of Chinese telecom companies.

It is mixing politics with normal business cooperation, and such practices severely violate the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, Bai said.