China will take ‘all necessary measures’ to defend companies blacklisted by US – Foreign Ministry

Beijing will defend the interests of Chinese companies hit by US sanctions, the country’s Foreign Ministry has said. It added that the US only hurts investors and itself when attacking Chinese entities. 

“The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and rejects US attempts to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters.

Wang slammed the US for the “politicization of economic and trade issues,” saying that attacks against Chinese entities are against international rules and hurt investors in various countries, including those in the US.  

“Excluding quality Chinese companies from the indices will only hurt the image of and cause losses to the indices themselves,” he said.

Reuters previously cited sources saying that the US Commerce Department will blacklist more than 10 additional Chinese companies over alleged human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region. 

Also on Friday, global market index publisher FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group, announced that it will delist an additional 20 Chinese companies in compliance with an executive order signed last week by US President Joe Biden. The order bans American investment companies from investing in dozens of Chinese firms with alleged ties to defense and surveillance technology sectors. 

The US has been blacklisting Chinese entities over reports of forced labor and mass surveillance of the Uighurs, China’s Muslim ethnic minority. Beijing has repeatedly denied such claims and accused Washington of meddling in its domestic affairs. 

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