China urges US to treat Chinese companies lawfully, fairly

China hopes the United States will create a fair, just, and stable legal and policy environment for Chinese companies, said a statement published by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on their official website.

View of ZTE Corporate Center (Shanghai) in Shanghai [File Photo: IC]

The statement is in response to a US ban on leading Chinese smartphone maker ZTE.

A spokesperson said in the statement that the Chinese government always asks Chinese companies to abide by local laws and regulations at the overseas investment destination. ZTE has launched cooperation with hundreds of American companies and offered tens of thousands of jobs to local residents.

The Ministry of Commerce will closely follow the latest development and is ready to take necessary measures to protect the legal rights of Chinese companies.

ZTE responded on Tuesday morning that the company is assessing the full range of potential implications that this event has on the company and is communicating with relevant parties proactively in order to respond accordingly.

The US Department of Commerce on Monday banned US companies from selling components to ZTE for seven years, which violated the terms of a deal made after the U.S. alleged that ZTE skirted sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

Last year the Commerce Department added ZTE on the Entity List under the Export Administration Regulations, making it difficult for ZTE to acquire U.S. products such as chips and software.

As of 2017, ZTE has 14 offices and six research centers in the United States, with 80 percent of the 350 staff at these facilities being Americans.