China hits back at US with countermeasures

China announced on Wednesday a package of countermeasures, including tighter export controls on drones and key components, a national security review into imported printers and copiers, and placing six US entities on its countermeasure list, against a series of US restrictions targeting Chinese companies.

A Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement that the moves were a necessary response to Washington's continued expansion of restrictions under the pretext of national security, urging the US to immediately withdraw the relevant measures, stop its wrongful actions and return to the right track of resolving differences through friendly consultation and cooperation.

The spokesperson said that the Federal Communications Commission, the US telecommunications regulator, has repeatedly introduced restrictive measures targeting Chinese companies while overstretching the concept of national security, despite China's strong opposition and calls from business communities in both countries for cooperation.

The commerce official said the measures taken by China were "overall restrained" and reflected its desire to preserve the hard-won stability of China-US economic and trade relations.

The spokesperson warned that China would take further countermeasures if the US insists on introducing new restrictive measures against China.

On the same day, the National Certification and Accreditation Administration said it would suspend, with immediate effect, post-certification factory inspections carried out by US certification agencies on behalf of designated China Compulsory Certification bodies.