China vows to protect businesses after Canada orders closure of Hikvision

China will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its businesses, the Ministry of Commerce warned on Monday, in response to Canada's decision to compel Chinese surveillance equipment manufacturer Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co to cease operations in the country.

Responding to media reports that a senior Canadian official announced on social media last week that the Canadian government had completed a national security review and concluded that Hikvision's continued operations posed a threat to its national security, a ministry spokesperson said this move is unjustified and damaging to bilateral economic ties.

The Canadian side has used the pretext of national security to forcibly shut down Hikvision's business operations in Canada and ban Canadian government branches from purchasing or using its products. China strongly opposes this, said the commerce official in an online statement.

The so-called "national security review" conducted by Canada lacked transparency and yielded uncertain outcomes, the spokesperson said, describing the move as a typical example of overreach in the name of national security.

This action undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, erodes business confidence on both sides, and disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada, according to the Commerce Ministry.