US action on ZTE to hurt itself: China

Beijing, April 19 (IANS) China on Thursday said the US will damage itself if it takes action against China’s leading telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp.

"The action targets China, however, it will ultimately undermine the US itself," Xinhua quoted spokesperson Gao Feng of the Ministry of Commerce as saying.

The US would lose tens of thousands of job opportunities while hundreds of related US enterprises would also be affected, he said.

The statement came after the US banned American firms from selling parts and software to ZTE Corp for seven years following the Chinese conglomaerate’s violation of an agreement punishing employees that was reached after it was caught illegally shipping US goods to Iran.

ZTE responded that it was "assessing the full range of potential implications that this event has on the company and is communicating with relevant parties proactively in order to respond accordingly", the Wall Street Journal reported.

The act has fuelled widespread concerns over US investment and business environment, Gao said.

"We hope the US does not fancy itself clever or it will only reap the bitter fruits from what it has sown," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, China is reviewing US smartphone chip supplier Qualcomm’s bid to acquire its Dutch rival chipmaker NXP Semiconductors based on anti-trust laws, the Commerce Ministry said.

The company has to receive approval from market regulators in nine countries to seal the deal.

The acquisition might lead to a major impact on the market and compromise competition, Gao added.

He said it will take time for regulators to investigate and analyse the case and the Commerce Ministry has talked with Qualcomm over reducing unfavourable influences of the acquisition.

Investigators have decided that the company’s remedy proposal might not help address market competition concerns, Gao said.

Qualcomm has withdrawn its previous acquisition application and resubmitted a new one to the MOC. The MOC will conduct an open and fair anti-monopoly investigation on the issue, he added.