China urges U.S. to stop suppressing Chinese enterprises

The logo of TikTok is displayed on the screen of a smartphone on a computer screen background in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday urged the United States to stop suppressing Chinese enterprises and do more things that are conducive to economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and the well-being of the two peoples.

Gao Feng, spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks at a press conference while commenting on the U.S. ban on Chinese video-sharing app TikTok.

For some time, the United States has been frequently using so-called "national security" and "national state of emergency" as excuses to restrict or prohibit Chinese companies from carrying out normal investment and business activities in the country, imposing trade ban on Chinese companies on trumped-up charges with no factual or legal basis, Gao said.

These actions seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprises and severely violated the basic principles of market economy, according to the spokesperson.

U.S. sanctions and suppression will surely undermine investors' confidence in the country, he said.

China urges the United States to stop its wrongdoing and groundless suppression of Chinese enterprises, and do more to benefit the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and the well-being of the two peoples, Gao added.

China firmly opposes using national security reviews targeting investment as a political tool, and generalizing and abuse of security reviews, Gao said.

The Chinese government is determined to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Gao added.