China on Friday accused the United States of misusing its national power by blacklisting more than 60 Chinese companies, alleging that Washington has “disregarded the consensus” reached between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in May.
In early June, the Pentagon blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies – including Alibaba, Baidu and BYD – as “Chinese military companies operating in the United States”. Days later, China announced export controls against leading US rare earth firms.
“The US has disregarded the consensus reached by the leaders of China and the US during their meeting in Beijing,” the Chinese embassy in Washington said.
It also added that the Trump administration has “excessively expanded the concept of national security, misused state power and unjustifiably suppressed Chinese enterprises, seriously undermining their legitimate rights and interests”.
Sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post that while the latest tit-for-tat actions are unhelpful, they are unlikely to adversely impact Xi’s likely visit to the United States in September.
Amid fragile stability, affected Chinese tech firms have taken legal steps to fight the Pentagon’s designation.