CHINA hit back Thursday at recent criticism from the United States about its trade practices, saying some countries’ unilateralism is an unprecedented challenge to global trade.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng also said that foreign and domestic firms are treated equally in China and that foreign firms should not have concerns about investing in China.

“Some countries’ unilateral actions and calls for unilateralism are an unprecedented challenge to the multilateral trading system,” Gao said.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to launch trade investigations under statutes seldom used in the World Trade Organization (WTO) era, including a “Section 301” probe of China’s intellectual property practices.

On Monday, U.S. trade envoy Robert Lighthizer said that China was a threat to the world trading system.

Gao defended China’s foreign investment policies, saying it has no laws requiring foreign companies to transfer technology to Chinese firms.

“[Any technology transfer] is market-driven behavior between companies. There is absolutely no government intervention,” said Gao.

The Ministry of Commerce on Monday unveiled a four-month crackdown to protect the intellectual property rights of firms with foreign investors.

Gao also said China hopes the European Union will maintain an open market and create a good environment for foreign firms, including Chinese companies.

China on Monday expressed concern about a proposal by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to limit its ability to buy up European firms in the infrastructure, hi-tech manufacturing and energy industries.

“China and the EU are both strong supporters of free trade, and we hope that with the current international trend, both sides can jointly oppose trade and investment protectionism and actively promote facilitation and liberalization of global investment,” Gao said. (SD-Agencies)