China calls for countries to stand up to US's abuse of export control

China on Tuesday called on countries to stand up against the United States' unilateralism and protectionism, saying the move bears on the international justice and the stability of the international trade system.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing after China filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US over chip export controls.

"The abuse of export control measures by the US has hampered normal international trade of products including chips and will distort the supply chains of global semiconductors as well as disrupt the international trade," Wang said.

He stressed that the US has repeatedly abused the pretext of national security and obstructed the normal international trade, which has met universal opposition of the international community.

China's complaint on US chip export curbs comes days after the WTO ruled that former US President Donald Trump violated global trade rules in 2018 when he invoked national security concerns to justify his tariffs on steel and aluminum products from around the world.

In addition, the WTO rejected the defense of the US by invoking the WTO national security exception.

"Facts prove that the security exception article is not a safe haven for unilateralism and protectionism," Wang stressed.