China firmly opposes the U.S. government's action to eliminate Chinese apps from its digital networks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing on Thursday.
Wang made the remarks as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday announced plans to expand its so-called "clean network" and urged American companies to bar "untrusted" Chinese apps from their app stores, including WeChat.
Wang said the United States' claim has no factual basis and went against market principles. The decision is to protect its monopoly in the high-tech field, he said.
China urges the U.S. to correct its mistake and create conditions where enterprises around the world can proceed with normal economic and trade cooperation, Wang said.
The "clean network" lists five areas that the U.S. government will seek to prohibit Chinese companies from accessing: app stores, apps, cloud services, mobile carrier networks and undersea internet cables, according to a CNN report.
