China has consistently opposed illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
Guo made the remarks after the U.S. announced Friday that it had decided to add China's Shandong United Energy Pipeline Transportation Co., Ltd. to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.
"China has consistently opposed the United States generalizing the concept of national security, interfering in and restricting normal economic and trade exchanges. China has consistently opposed illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the United Nations Security Council," said Guo.
China opposes unilateral sanctions, "long-arm jurisdiction": spokesman
The new U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump is expected to stay more open to large Chinese investments, said Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol at noon on Monday, beginning his second term as he returns to the White House after four years.
Upon invitation, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended the inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Orlins noted he expects positive development as well during Trump's second term in the White House.
"I get the sense that President Trump is going to be more welcoming to Chinese investment in the United States than the previous administration that he believes that the creation of jobs in the United States by Chinese enterprises is great, and if they're going to invest over more than a billion dollars, he's already stated he will make issuing of permits more easy. It'll be easier for them to get it. So I have a feeling that that may be an area where we see improvement," he said.
Orlins additionally mentioned that the inclusion of structural reforms into the trade agreements between the two countries could improve trade ties, leading to economic benefits for both Chinese consumers and entrepreneurs.
"I think tariffs, there's little that we can do, there will be tariffs. I don't know that the percentage of the tariffs, whether it's going to be 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 percent, but it will be significant. It's something which, you know, if you go all the way back to 2017 or 18, when the first Trump administration was negotiating what was called the phase one trade agreement. The phase two trade agreement was going to have a lot of structural reform in it. I think it not only benefits U.S.-China relations, it benefits the Chinese people. The Chinese people have more selections of goods and more ability to earn money if structural reform occurs. So I think that would be a great first step," he said.
China-US ties to see progress in Trump's new administration: expert