China will 'fully and seriously assess' UK decision to ban Huawei from 5G network

China said on Wednesday that it will fully and seriously assess the United Kingdom's decision to ban Huawei from its 5G network, vowing to take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily news briefing.

Without any evidence, the UK cooperated with the United States to discriminate and exclude Chinese companies in its 5G market under the pretext of fabricated risks, Hua said.

She voiced strong opposition to the move, saying it violated the principle of market economy and free trade and the UK broke its promises, as well as undermined the legitimate interests of Chinese companies and the mutual trust between China and the UK.

"This is not about one company or one industry; it is about the UK at all costs to highly politicize business and technology issues", she said.

It is also about China facing a more obvious threat in its investment in the UK, and about China's confidence on whether the UK will maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment, she added.

Banning Huawei will not hinder the company's growth, but will harm the interests of the UK, she said.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said, "We convinced many countries, many countries, I did this myself for the most part, not to use Huawei, because we think it is an unsafe security risk, it's a big security risk."

Trump's remarks prove that the decision to ban Huawei is political manipulation and has nothing to do with national security, Hua said.

She said that it shows the world that it is the US, not China, that threatens, intimidates and drives a wedge between countries.

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