China tells US companies it will protect rights of foreign-funded firms

China’s Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji told U.S. companies including Tesla and GE Healthcare that the country would always protect the rights of foreign-funded firms in China, including those from the United States, Reuters reported.

China has been, is, and will be an “ideal, safe, and promising investment ground for foreign investors,” Ling said at a roundtable meeting in Beijing on Sunday with more than 20 U.S.-funded companies.

The comments from Ling, also China’s deputy trade negotiator, suggest Beijing has no plans to penalise U.S. companies even as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates a tariff war with the rest of the world including China.

Citing Ling, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Monday that it would protect the “legitimate rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law, and actively promote the resolution of foreign-funded enterprises’ problems and demands.”

The “abuse of tariffs on all trading partners, including China” has seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system,” Ling said, adding that the root of the tariff dispute “lies in the United States”.

Last month, President Xi Jinping urged a gathering of multinational CEOs in Beijing to protect global industry and supply chains.

Xi said foreign firms contribute one-third of China’s imports and exports and have also created more than 30 million jobs, stressing their value to the world’s second-biggest economy.