US suppressing Chinese telecom operator, says China after Unicom ban

Beijing has accused the US of generalizing the concept of national security, and malicious suppression of Chinese telecom operators.

This comes after the US Federal Communications Commission on Thursday revoked telecom giant China Unicom America's authority to provide services in the US over national security concerns.

"The move is a severe deviation from market-oriented principles, and it has damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and consumers, including those in the United States, and disrupted the normal order of the international economy and trade," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

The Chinese side will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, the ministry added.

This latest decision to eject the Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator from the US market adds to the tally of other Chinese firms sanctioned by the agency over security concerns.

"The Federal Communications Commission adopted an Order ending the ability of China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States," the FCC had said on Thursday.

The FCC in a press release said that revoking the Chinese state-owned telecom operator's authority safeguards the United States' telecommunications infrastructure from potential security threats.

The FCC said it found that the company's subsidiary, China Unicom Americas, was subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government and could be required to comply with requests from Beijing.

Earlier in March last year, the Commission found that China Unicom had failed to dispel serious concerns regarding the retention of its authority to provide telecommunications services in the US.