The Latest: France’s Macron warns not to freeze out Huawei

BEIJING — The Latest on trade tensions between the U.S. and China (all times local):

7:15 p.m.

In Paris, France’s president has cautioned against freezing out Chinese tech giant Huawei or escalating trade tensions with China.

Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that “launching a technology war or a trade war toward any country” is not the best way to defend national interests.

Macron was speaking at the VivaTech gadget show. He was responding to the U.S. announcement Wednesday labeling Huawei a security risk and introducing export controls.

But Macron added that France would be “very careful” about choosing who can install 5G networks. Huawei is far ahead of competitors in developing 5G technology, and denies accusations it facilitates Chinese spying.

Macron said France and Europe want more co-operation among governments to solve conflicts, as Washington and Beijing battle for global economic and technological dominance.

___

6:00 p.m.

China’s government has criticized Washington for imposing export controls on technology sales to tech giant Huawei, saying it will “resolutely safeguard” Chinese companies.

A foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, criticized “abuse of export control measures” on Thursday after President Donald Trump signed an order requiring vendors to get approval for sales to Huawei.

Huawei, the biggest global maker of switching equipment for phone and internet companies, has spent a decade fighting accusations it facilitates Chinese spying.

Lu said Beijing will take “further measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises” but gave no details.

The Associated Press