Germany has no plan to follow U.S. ban on Chinese tech firms: official

The German government would not follow the U.S. in generally banning new equipment sales from Chinese tech firms such as Huawei, an Economy Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Instead, such decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis, said the spokesperson at a regular government news conference.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission issued a ban last Friday on importing and selling telecommunications equipment made by five Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE, alleging they pose an "unacceptable risk" to U.S. national security.

Huawei and ZTE have repeatedly opposed U.S. restrictions and denied that they threaten U.S. security.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday pledged necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said at a press conference that China firmly opposes the U.S. generalizing the concept of national security and abusing state power to maliciously suppress Chinese companies and urged the U.S. side to immediately correct its wrong practices.

According to Reuters, when asked whether it expected a tightening of rules or even a ban in Germany or the European Union, Huawei said on Friday it relied on constructive and facts-oriented dialogue.

"Secure use of networks is independent of a provider's country of origin and can only be ensured by means of global standards in international cooperation between industry and regulatory authorities," said Huawei.

(CGTN)