Beijing has expressed its protest over Washington adopting 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes some ‘negative’ content on China, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

“We urge the US side to be objective regarding China and the Chinese-US relations, to strictly adhere to the principle of one China and three US-Chinese joint statements, to avoid implementing the negative provisions of the bill so as not to harm the Chinese-US relations as well as bilateral cooperation in the most important fields,” the statement read.

The NDAA strengthens the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews proposals to determine if they threaten national security. That measure was seen as targeting China, Reuters reported.

Moreover, the bill sets “long-term strategic competition with China” as the United States’ “principal priority.” It proceeds to call for evaluation of propaganda, economic tools, hacking and “defense installations,” allegedly used by China against the United States.

“The US side should objectively and fairly treat Chinese investors, and avoid CFIUS becoming an obstacle to investment cooperation between Chinese and US firms,” Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement as quoted by Reuters.

The new US defense bill signed into law by US President Donald Trump on Monday also contains a section on cooperation with Taiwan. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and refuses to support diplomatic relations with any country that officially recognizes Taiwan.

Source: Agencies