(Yicai Global) May 17 -- China will firmly defend its own interests and will not make concessions on its core interests, said a spokesman for the country's commerce ministry in reference to the case involving telecoms equipment maker ZTE Corp.

"We will resolutely defend our own interests and will not make any deal at the cost of China's core interests," said Gao Feng in a press briefing today in response to a question of whether China has made any concessions to resolve the case surrounding ZTE.

The US activated a denial order against ZTE last month, preventing it from purchasing tech components from the United States for seven years.

US President Trump tweeted last Sunday that Beijing and Washington are working together to give ZTE "a way to get back into business, fast." This prompted some media reports that China has made concessions to get ZTE out of its predicament.

Denying such allegations, Gao said that market forces are behind China-US economic and trade relations. China is willing to expand imports from countries all over the world, including the US, and welcomes US companies to do business in China, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Gao.

China expects the US to take swift action to resolve the matter involving ZTE in a fair and reasonable manner as soon as possible, lift unfair trade restrictions, improve its supply, and treat Chinese products and investments fairly, Gao said.

Editor: Mevlut Katik