China refutes British moves to beef up ban on Huawei

BEIJING -- British moves to beef up ban on China's Huawei have undermined the mutual trust for bilateral cooperation, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a relevant question.

Without any concrete evidence, Britain, in collaboration with the United States, has been discriminating and suppressing Chinese companies citing nonexistent "security risks," Zhao said.

It blatantly violates the principles of market economy and free trade rules, severely undermines the interests of Chinese companies, and continually erodes mutual trust with China, which is the basis for bilateral cooperation, the spokesperson said.

In light of this, significant concerns have been raised over the openness and fairness of the British market as well as the security of foreign investment in Britain, Zhao added.