Distorting the normal international trade order, the U.S. should stop illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and concretely fulfill the international obligation as a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

Mao made the remarks in response to a report saying the U.S.'s semiconductor-related export controls to China will expand to Japanese and Dutch enterprises.

Noting that some commentators said that the U.S. uses its own laws to restrict other countries' exports to China, which is a typical long-arm jurisdiction, Mao said the U.S. has abused the long-arm jurisdiction over the years, seriously undermining the principles of sovereign equality of states, eroding the multilateral international order with the UN at its core and harming the interests of enterprises of various countries.

Backed by the country's comprehensive strength and financial hegemony, the U.S.'s long-arm jurisdiction is an arbitrary judicial practice of indiscriminately imposing "extraterritorial jurisdiction" on entities and individuals in other countries according to its own laws, Mao said.

All previous U.S. governments have abused economic coercion and made sanctions the first choice to resolve diplomatic issues, which not only is not effective, but also causes humanitarian disasters, she added.

Up to the fiscal year of 2021, the number of sanctions imposed by the U.S. has added up to 9,400, she said, adding that many countries have been involved in the U.S.'s long-arm jurisdiction, including China, Russia, Iran, Syria, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Cuba, France, Germany, Japan and the UK.

According to an analysis by the Brookings Institution, the sanctions imposed by the U.S. may have caused more than 13,000 deaths during the worst period of COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

In order to maintain the leading status in economy and technology, the U.S. generalizes the concept of national security, abuses export controls measures, interferes with normal economic and trade exchanges and undermines the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, which runs counter to the principles of market economy and fair competition that the U.S. has always advertised, she noted.

(Cover: A view of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. /CFP)

Read more:

U.S. undermining international order with 'Long-arm Jurisdiction'