Beijing has accused Washington of cracking down on Chinese companies in a 'disgraceful' and 'immoral' way amid an escalating trade war between China and the United States.

China's Foreign Ministry lashed out at the Trump Administration after Huawei yesterday - without evidence - claimed that the U.S. government had instructed law enforcement to 'coerce' and 'entice' its employees to turn against the company.

The Chinese telecom giant also accused the U.S. government of launching cyber-attacks on the firm.

Huawei claimed its staff were subjected to unlawful searches, detention and arrest in the U.S.

The Chinese telecom giant, founded by self-made billionaire Ren Zhengfei, has been the centre of a bitter trade war between the world's two largest economies. The two countries' leaders are seen walking together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach on April 7, 2017

Geng Shuang, a spokesman from China's Foreign Ministry, today condemned the United States of abusing its national power and using it to penalise certain Chinese companies.

He made the remarks after being asked after about Huawei's allegations against the U.S. government.

Geng added: 'Such behaviour [from the United States] is disgraceful and immoral. Furthermore, it's a renunciation of the market economy which the U.S side has hailed.

'We urge the U.S. side to stop its erroneous act of generalising national security, smearing and criticising China on purpose, as well as the unreasonable crackdown on Chinese companies.'

Geng Shuang (pictured in January), a spokesman from China's Foreign Ministry, today condemned the United States of abusing its national power on penalising Chinese firms

Geng demanded Washington provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese firms to carry out normal activities in the United States.

Huawei was the world's number two smartphone producer last year, ahead of Apple and behind South Korea's Samsung, as well as the largest provider of telecom networking equipment.

The Shenzhen-based firm, founded by self-made billionaire Ren Zhengfei, has been the centre of a bitter trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Huawei is set to release a phone using its own operating system this year after Google cut ties

Huawei was founded by self-made billionaire Ren Zhengfei (pictured) who served in military

Washington put Huawei on an Entity List for fear of national security in May. It claimed that Huawei's gear could be used by Beijing to spy on Americans - allegations Huawei has repeatedly denied.

The sanction would effectively cut off Huawei's access to essential U.S. components and technology, in particular Google's apps and services for Android devices. Huawei has since received two 90-day reprieves.

Meng Wanzhou, the daughter and heiress-apparent to Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, is currently facing extradition to the United States after being arrested in Canada in December.

The United States wants to put Meng on trial for fraud for allegedly violating Iran sanctions and lying about it to U.S. banks - accusations her lawyers have disputed.

Ms Meng, Huawei's CFO and heiress-apparent, is facing extradition to the U.S. over alleged violations of American sanctions against Iran. Her extradition hearings are set to be next January, more than a year after she was arrested during her trip from Hong Kong to Mexico

Huawei yesterday accused that the U.S. government was using its judicial and administrative powers as well as other means to disrupt its business and that of its partners.

Huawei said in its public statement that staff and Huawei partners were subjected to unlawful searches, detention and arrest while some employees were visited by FBI agents at their homes and pressured to collect information on the company.

According to the Huawei document, eight employees, several of them U.S. citizens, were involved in the incidents. All of them are mid- to high-level executives.

The latest incident happened on August 28 when an employee from Huawei's U.S. office informed the company of a visit from the FBI asking the person to be an informant.

Huawei did not provide any evidence for its accusations, saying that their employees had reported them to the company.

Huawei also claimed that the U.S. government was launching cyber-attacks on the company

Since the start of this year, at least three U.S. employees have been contacted by U.S. law enforcement agencies, the Huawei document said.

A U.S. Justice Department spokesman said that while they do not comment on specific investigations, 'in all matters, our investigative techniques comply with the law and all subjects of investigations enjoy the same rights to due process afforded by our Constitution and safeguarded by an independent judiciary'.

Beyond the accusations of putting pressure on its employees, Huawei also claimed that the U.S. government was launching cyber-attacks on the company and mobilising companies that work with Huawei to bring unsubstantiated accusations. The document did not provide specific details about these efforts.

Huawei is considered the world leader in superfast 5G equipment and smartphones

The company also accused U.S. authorities of selectively launching criminal investigations based on civil cases that have already been settled and filing criminal charges based on claims of technology theft.

'The fact remains that none of Huawei's core technology has been the subject of any criminal case brought against the company, and none of the accusations levied by the U.S. government have been supported with sufficient evidence,' the company said.

Prosecutors in the United States are reportedly investigating new allegations of technology theft against Huawei.

The latest controversy involves Portuguese inventor Rui Pedro Oliveira who claims Huawei met him and then essentially ripped off one of his designs in order to produce the Huawei EnVizion 360 panoramic camera.

Huawei yesterday denied the allegations, accusing the Portuguese inventor of 'taking advantage of the current geopolitical situation'.

Portuguese inventor Rui Pedro Oliveira (left) has claimed that Huawei met him and then ripped off one of his designs in order to produce the Huawei EnVizion 360 panoramic camera (right)

China and the United States have been locked in a bitter trade war for more than a year.

The dispute began after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing of using unfair trade practices to 'take advantage of Washington'.

The Trump administration also accused Beijing of carrying out intellectual property theft by forcing foreign firms to go through forced technology transfers.

China, on the other hand, has accused the United States of using unilateralism and hegemony to bully trade partners and disrupt global economy.

The two side's last attempt for tariff talks ended with a brief round of meetings in Shanghai in July with trade no deal in sight.

U.S. President Donald Trump (pictured on August 30) warned China yesterday that stalling for time on a trade deal will only make him demand more if he wins a second term in 2020

U.S. President Trump yesterday tweeted that his trade terms would only get 'much tougher'

The tariff battle escalated late last month when the two countries announced to slap additional tariffs on each other's imports.

China this week lodged a complaint against the United States with the World Trade Organization (WTO), one day after the new tariff imposed by Washington on $300 billion in Chinese goods came into force on September 1.

U.S. President Trump yesterday warned Beijing his trade terms would get 'much tougher' if he gets re-elected in 2020, urging the Chinese side to stop stalling for time for a deal.

China's top trade negotiator, its Vice Premier Liu He, said Beijing firmly opposed a tariff war during a meeting with U.S. senators.