China is establishing an 'unreliable entities' list that will include companies and people - 2 minutes read


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Chinese President Xi Jinping stands by national flags.

Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images

China said it will establish a list of so-called unreliable entities of foreign companies and people that "seriously damage" the interests of domestic firms.

"Foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals that do not comply with market rules, violate the spirit of contract, block or cut supplies to Chinese firms with non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, will be added to the list of unreliable entities," Gao Feng, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

He added detailed measures will be announced soon.

While the announcement didn't mention any specific country or company, it came at the height of the ongoing trade war with the U.S. which escalated after President Donald Trump blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei, halting its ability to purchase American chips.

The world's two largest economies have been jockeying for tit-for-tat strategies after the trade talks fell through earlier this month. In a recent move, China reportedly stopped purchases of U.S. soybeans and threatened to cut off rare earth supply to the U.S.

Both sides have slapped more tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods in May. The tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation for the higher duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese products will kick in June 1.