China expressed deep concern over the reports that Japan was planning to ban government purchases of equipment from China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

The two companies' operations in Japan are legal, spokesperson Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing.

Geng said that China hopes the Japanese side will provide a fair competitive environment for Chinese companies in Japan, and refrain from doing anything that would undermine mutual trust and cooperation.