China opposes US move to label its leading firms as military companies

China opposes US move to label its leading firms as military companies

China said it firmly opposes the addition of several prominent Chinese companies to the US list of military companies, and that the move ignored the consensus reached during the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month.

The Pentagon on Monday added several Chinese companies that are not state-owned, including electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, and tech giants Alibaba and Baidu, to its list aimed at identifying Chinese companies it believes have ties to the Chinese military, which prevents them from obtaining US defense contracts, AP reported.

By adding these firms to the list, "the US side ignored the consensus reached during the meeting of the heads of state of the two countries in Beijing," a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday.

The United States has "overlooked the overall interests of bilateral economic and trade relations, continuously generalized the concept of national security, and abused state power to unjustifiably suppress Chinese enterprises," the spokesperson added.

BYD, Alibaba and Baidu have previously said there is no basis for their inclusion on the said list.

Trump visited Beijing in mid-May for a long-awaited summit with Xi. The two leaders agreed to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, including Chinese purchases of more US agricultural products and Boeing aircraft, and the establishment of a trade and investment committee.