BEIJING (AP) — China’s Commerce Ministry will release a list of “unreliable” foreign companies in the near future, a spokesman said Thursday, without giving a specific date.
The new list, announced last week, is widely seen as a response to a U.S. decision to put Huawei Technologies on a blacklist for alleged theft of intellectual property and evasion of Iran sanctions.
Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters at a weekly briefing that the process of drawing up the list was underway. He said no particular company or industry is being targeted.
“Companies that abide by Chinese laws and contractual spirit totally needn’t worry,” he said.
For Huawei, U.S. companies will have to seek government approval for sales to the Chinese telecom giant once the listing takes effect.
China hasn’t said what action it would take against the entities included on its list.