Trade war intensifies: China to publish its own US ban list

China said Thursday that it would soon release detailed information about a planned blacklist of unreliable companies and individuals as Beijing hits back in a trade war with Washington.

Last month the US Commerce Department placed Chinese tech giant Huawei and dozens of its affiliates on an entity list on grounds of national security.

The move curbed access to crucial US-made components and software though a 90-day reprieve was later issued.

Related: Facebook removes preinstalled apps from Huawei devices

Who will make it to China's US ban' list?Beijing announced its countermeasures last week, saying it would target firms that break their commercial contracts and stop supplying Chinese firms with its own list.

The Chinese government is carrying out the necessary procedures, and specific measures will be announced in the near future, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.

For those companies that follow market rules, they have nothing to worry about, Gao said, adding the list would not target any specific field or company.

The unreliable entity list system that the Chinese government will establish is a normative system designed in reaction to practices distorting the market for non-commercial purposes, he told reporters.

Related: Huawei says new operating system could be ready before end of 2019

China is consulting international examples on how to carry out its entity list, Gao said.

The aim is to safeguard a fair competitive market.

Criteria for making it to the entity listChinese law experts have said it will function in the same way as the US entity list, banning Chinese firms from selling or cooperating with companies on the list.

Analysts expect US and international firms that have cut off supplies to Huawei to be among the first added to the list.

Ties between China and the US have deteriorated sharply after trade negotiations stalled last month without a deal to lift bruising tariffs on goods worth $360 billion in two-way trade.

Related: Huawei will roll out EMUI 9.0 update to 100m users by end June

Instead, the two sides hiked punitive tariffs, and expanded their tariff war into a broader fight.

If the US obstinately continues to escalate trade frictions, China will take the necessary countermeasures and resolutely defend the interests of our nation and people, said Gao.

Tags: asyqzszhChinaHuaweitradeUnited States of America

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