US Ban on Huawei: China supports companies using legal weapons for protection

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US policies to restrict Huawei have also caused collateral damage to dozens of companies who supply products to Huawei, including US tech giant Qualcomm. While Huawei has said that they are prepared for the US ban, the Chinese government says they support Chinese companies that use legal weapons to protect their own interests. CGTN's Zou Yun has the story.

No American chips, no problem.

That's the message from Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.

Huawei affiliate Hi-Silicon says they've been preparing for US restrictions for years, and have a back-up plan.

The new round of bickering came as the US Commerce Department put Huawei and 68 affiliates on its so-called Entity List, which bans the company from buying components from American firms without U.S. government approval.

At a press briefing on Monday, a foreign spokesperson said China firmly opposes the United States' recent remarks and actions that harmed China's interests.

LU KANG CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON "We will formally confirm this matter and follow the situation closely. At the same time, China will support its own enterprises and take necessary legal steps to defend their legitimate rights and interests."

Beijing has urged Washington "not to go too far" in harming China's interests, and called for it to change course to avoid further damaging bilateral ties.

Data from Huawei shows that it procured around 70 billion US dollars worth of components and services from its 13,000 suppliers worldwide last year, with roughly 11 billion US dollars worth coming from US suppliers.

ZOU YUN BEIJING "Founder of Huawei also said that the growth of his company may only slightly slow down due to the ban, but for the US government, they will lose credibility by repeatedly threatening its trade partners. ZY, CGTN, BJ."