ZTE ban causing market discomfort

The US' ban on ZTE caused market worries about the trade and investment environment, a spokesman from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

The MOC said Thursday that the US action against China's leading telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp will damage itself.

"The action targets China, however, it will ultimately undermine the United States itself," MOC spokesperson Gao Feng told a press conference.

The United States will lose tens of thousands of job opportunities, while hundreds of related US enterprises will also be affected, he said.

The act has fueled widespread concerns over US investment and the business environment, Gao said. "We hope the United States doesn't fancy itself clever, or it will only reap the bitter fruits from what it has sown."

The US Department of Commerce has imposed a denial of export privileges against ZTE Corp for alleged violations of the Export Administration Regulations.

Gao said the US side should not underestimate China's determination.

"If the United States attempts to curb China's development and force China to make concessions by sticking to its unilateral protectionism at the cost of harming the interests of Chinese and American enterprises, it miscalculates," he said.

China's resolute determination and confidence in defending the interests of China and its people will not swerve, he said. "We will fight resolutely."

China's anti-dumping measure on grain sorghum imported from the United States is an individual case and not related to trade tensions.

"The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probes into US sorghum are strictly in accordance with WTO rules," said Gao.

The tariffs China imposes on food imported from the US will not influence domestic consumption.

The US's response at the WTO was just to meet "procedural requirements",and China and the US have not started any form of negotiation on the latter country's Section 301 investigation and tariff list, Gao added.

The ministry also announced its investigation result, revealing halogenated butyl rubber originating from the US, European Union and Singapore is dumped into China.

Xinhua contributed to this story.