Govt asks US to drop its campaign against Chinese companies

Beijing on Tuesday urged Washington to stop its campaign against Chinese enterprises, including Huawei, and not to issue formal extradition request for Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the remarks after the United States Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Monday against Chinese tech giant Huawei, Meng and several subsidiaries, alleging the company stole trade secrets, misled banks about its business and violated US sanctions.

"China urges the US to treat Chinese companies in an objective and fair manner," Geng said in a statement, adding that the country will firmly defend the legitimate interests of its enterprises.

"The US has been running a campaign against specific Chinese companies by using state power and has been trying to strangle their legitimate operations, which reveals their strong political intention and manipulation," Geng said.

He said China again demands the US to cancel Meng's arrest warrant, asks Canada to release her immediately and protect her legitimate interests.

The Chinese government always requires Chinese companies to abide by laws and regulations when conducting business cooperation with foreign countries, and also asks all countries to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for their normal operation, he added.