BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while insisting that assertiveness is not a Chinese characteristic, said on Friday that Beijing would stand by Huawei Technologies and diplomats taking stands overseas.

Referring to recent U.S. actions against the telecommunications equipment maker and Meng Wanzhou, its chief financial officer, as a "deliberate political move to bring them down," Wang said with a raised fist, "We support the company and individual in question in seeking legal redress to protect their own interests and refusing to be victimized like silent lambs."

Huawei on Wednesday filed suit in Texas to challenge a law locking it out of sales to U.S. public agencies. This followed Meng's move a few days earlier to legally challenge whether Canadian authorities had violated her rights in detaining and searching her under a U.S. arrest warrant. U.S. prosecutors allege that she committed bank fraud in relation to sales of equipment to Iran.

"China has and will continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate and lawful interests of Chinese businesses and citizens," said Wang at a news conference in Beijing. "This is a duty bound on the Chinese government."

Asked about aggressive recent statements by Chinese diplomats in relation to Huawei, Meng and other issues, Wang said: "Assertiveness has never been part of Chinese tradition. [But] like all countries, China will protect its lawful and legitimate rights and we will not allow any infringement of our sovereignty and dignity."

The foreign minister also defended President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, which critics allege has burdened a number of countries with unsustainable debts. Examples of beneficial infrastructure improvements across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Pacific financed through the program showed "that the BRI is not a debt trap that countries fall into but an economic pie that benefits local populations."

"It is no geopolitical tool, but provides great opportunities for shared development," he added.

Analysts say that despite negative perceptions of the initiative, emerging economies with poor sovereign debt ratings will continue to rely on Beijing for infrastructure development and financing. Chinese companies that undertake these projects are mainly state-owned enterprises, which take orders from the top without much consideration for economic returns.

But this may change as Beijing plans to allow private equity into state-owned enterprises to nurture world-class companies, according to a government work report published Tuesday. The report also said the government will address problems related to financing and risk-management to ensure better results.

"We welcome constructive suggestions from our BRI partners to fully reflect on our principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits," Wang said.

Wang also addressed the recent failed summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, calling it an "important step toward the political settlement of the nuclear issue."

Calling for patience and "reasonable expectations," Wang said "the nuclear issue has dragged along for decades... [so] we cannot expect it to be solved overnight."

"One should not set the bar too high at the outset or make unilateral and unrealistic demands," he said, calling China's role in advancing North Korean denuclearization "irreplaceable."

Wang Yi also expressed confidence in China's relationship with the U.S., downplaying trade frictions ahead of an expected summit between Trump and Xi this month or next.

"We still have a positive outlook on the China-U.S. relationship," the foreign minister said, acknowledging that recent trade negotiations have made substantial progress. He added that given the two countries' deep trade and investment ties, any U.S. move to "decouple from China would mean decoupling from the opportunities of the future."

Wang did not give specifics on whether Xi will visit Japan in June, other than saying bilateral relations "were back on track and moving toward improved and stronger ties."