Aixtron CEO Paul Hyland and CFO Wolfgang Breme at the Aixtron AG headquarters during a press conference. (Photo : Getty Images)
China called on the United States government to refrain from causing disruptions in the Chinese firms' foreign corporate acquisitions, in response to President Barack Obama's decision to block a Chinese firm's proposal to acquire a German company that manufactures semiconductor manufacturing equipment, calling the deal a security risk.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said that the acquisition of Aixtron SE by China's Fujian Grand Chip was "pure market behavior," the Business Insider reported.
"We hope that the United States will cease making groundless accusations about Chinese companies and will provide a fair environment and favorable conditions for investment by them," Lu told media at a press conference.
"I think this matter will in the long run be in the interests of all the parties concerned."
On Friday, Dec. 2, Obama asked Fujian Grand Chip to abandon its bid to take over Aixtron's California subsidiary, saying that the U.S. government is concerned of its "military applications."
It was the third time in three decades that a U.S. president has done against a Chinese company on national security reasons, the report said.
Last week, Aixtron's parent company said that it would reconsider its earlier decision due to "security-related questions," which it did not elaborate. Germany had approved the $740 million (670 million euro) takeover of Aixtron's German parent company.
Chinese companies have been involved in a series of multibillion-dollar acquisitions in Europe, with the aim to gain technology and brands that included Pirelli tires, Club Med and Volvo Cars.
Although the outflow of money is welcomed by many Europeans, some business leaders complained that their proposals for acquisition are blocked by China.
Aixtron said that under the proposed acquisition, its headquarters, research and development operations and existing technology would still be at its current sites.
In 2012, Obama prevented Ralls Corp., a Chinese-owned firm, from building a wind farm near a naval base in Oregon.
In 1990, then-President George Bush stopped a Chinese state-owned company from buying the MAMCO Manufacturing Inc., a company manufacturing aircraft parts.
