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(Reuters) - 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.
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.
(Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and Ryan Woo in Beijing; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edwina Gibbs)
