China will not force Chinese companies to collect and provide private data and information, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Monday in response to concerns raised by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence over China's National Intelligence Act and Chinese telecom corporations such as Huawei.

Geng pointed out that the interpretation of the U.S. on the National Intelligence Act is incorrect and one-sided. The information-collecting work should be conducted in accordance with the laws under the premise of respecting and safeguarding human rights and citizen's legitimate rights and freedom, he stressed, citing the Act.

He also noted that it is an international practice to safeguard national security by asking citizens to cooperate with national intelligence work with legislation.

China always requires Chinese enterprises to strictly follow the local laws when operating business overseas, opposes bypassing regular cooperation channels or unilaterally applying to domestic laws, he said.

Geng reiterated that China will never force Chinese companies to collect and provide private data and information.

According to Geng, the concern over Chinese companies is an excuse to suppress the growth of Chinese companies. It reveals the double standard of the U.S. and its allies. China opposes using political means to interfere with economic activities, said Geng.

Sunday at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Pence labeled Chinese tech giant Huawei a threat to national security and called on Washington's allies to ban the company from developing 5G wireless infrastructure during the meeting.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, reiterated Huawei's close cooperation with European countries and China's support for multilateralism and peaceful development. He urged the U.S. to compete fairly and proceed from the fundamental interests of the two peoples.