Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) on Friday denied that Beijing tells its tech companies to spy abroad and promised to treat foreign and domestic competitors equally in an effort to defuse tensions with Washington and Europe.
Li’s rejection of spying accusations at a news conference was the Chinese government’s highest-level effort yet to put Western security concerns to rest.
The accusations threaten Chinese access to lucrative markets for telecom and other technology.
“This is not how China behaves. We did not do that and will not do that in the future,” Li said when asked whether Beijing told Chinese companies to spy on foreign countries.
The US, Australia and some other governments have imposed curbs on the use of technology from Chinese vendors including Huawei Technologies Co (華為) on security grounds. Washington is lobbying European and other allies to shun Huawei as their phone carriers prepare to invest billions of US dollars in next-generation technology.
Huawei, the biggest global maker of network gear, has denied it facilitates Chinese spying.
Its founder has told reporters he would reject official requests to disclose customer secrets.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government faces mounting pressure to repair trade relations with the US, Europe and other major markets after last year’s economic growth fell to a three-decade low of 6.6 percent.
Activity has weakened further on multiple fronts, including cooling export growth and a contraction in auto sales.
Li promised to create a “level playing field” for all competitors in China’s state-dominated economy.
He pledged to open more industries to foreign investment, but gave no details.
“We will adhere to the principle of neutrality and treat domestic and foreign companies as equals,” he said.
Also on Friday, China’s National People’s Congress endorsed a law aimed at defusing a tariff spat with Washington by discouraging Chinese officials from pressuring companies to hand over technology.
The measure is part of an investment law that aims to address complaints that China’s system is rigged against foreign companies.
“This is designed to protect the rights and interests of foreign investors and attract more foreign investment,” Li said.
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