China firmly opposes the deliberate smear and suppression of Huawei and other Chinese companies by the United States, a foreign ministry spokesperson said August 18 in responses to U.S. announcement of further restrictions on the company.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press briefing that the United States has been abusing national security concept and state power to impose various restrictions on Chinese companies, which is "a blatant hegemonic act."

The U.S. government announced on August 17 it would further tighten restrictions on Huawei Techno;U.S.logies Co. with an aim to cut off all its access to U.S. technology, adding 38 Huawei affiliates to an existing list of companies banned from receiving some sensitive technologies.

Zhao said the United States has violated international trade rules, and severely damaged global industrial chain and supply chain, stressing that this will inevitably undermine the national interests and image of the United States.

Noting that many successful companies in other countries have had similar suppression from the United States in history, Zhao said the U.S. act "has been and will continue to be opposed by all other countries."

Over the past 30 years, Huawei has built more than 1,500 networks in more than 170 countries and regions, provided services to 228 Fortune 500 companies, and served more than 3 billion people worldwide. There has not been a single cyber security incident or network monitoring and surveillance activity similar to the Snowden and WikiLeaks incidents, or the "Prism gate" incident. No country has any evidence that Huawei inserts "backdoors," Zhao said.

Zhao urged the United States to immediately correct its mistakes, stop slandering China, and stop suppressing Chinese companies, adding that the Chinese government will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests.