China's Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday that it "firmly opposes" the latest U.S. revocation of licenses for export to Huawei, calling the practice "economic coercion."

The U.S. Commerce Department didn't name the companies affected by the revocation, but a Reuters report said licenses for Intel and Qualcomm to ship chips to Huawei have been revoked, citing unnamed sources.

"We have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei," the Commerce Department said in a statement, declining to specify which ones it had withdrawn.

The move could hurt Huawei, which still relies on Intel chips to power its laptops, and could hurt U.S. suppliers that do business with the company.

The U.S. practices not only "violate WTO rules" but also "seriously damage the interests of U.S. companies," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a reply to reporters, adding that China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

Huawei told CGTN that it has "no comment" on the situation.

Huawei was placed on a U.S. trade restriction list in 2019 amid fears it has the ability to spy on Americans, part of a broader effort to handicap China's technology development. Being added to the list means the company's suppliers must seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping.

Huawei shocked the industry last August with the Mate 60 smartphone, powered by a sophisticated chip, despite U.S. export restrictions. The company also launched the Pura 70 phone series with an upgraded chip, the Kirin 9010, in April.

(With input from Reuters.)