China says a new set of U.S. trade restrictions on Chinese technology company Huawei will hurt world trade.
The new U.S. rules block suppliers from using American technology to produce processor chips and other electronic parts for Huawei.

The Chinese company is a major supplier of equipment to telecommunications companies around the world and is also a major producer of smartphones.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman accused the U.S. of “violating international trade rules” and harming the international supply chain.

China will “take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the spokesman added. While such language is commonly used during trade disputes, it is often not followed up with official action.

The president of the company’s consumer division, Richard Yu, said this month that Huawei was running out of processor chips for its smartphones. Huawei designs its own chips, but Yu said production of a more complex kind, the Kirin series, would stop on September 15 because the company depends on outside manufacturers that use U.S. technology.

Officials at the U.S. Commerce Department said the new action should prevent Huawei’s attempts to get around U.S. export controls. It “makes clear that we’re covering off-the-shelf designs that Huawei may be seeking to purchase from a third-party design house,” an official told Reuters news agency.

U.S. officials have pushed governments around the world to cut ties with Huawei. They say that the company could provide data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.