BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that proposed U.S. legislation targeting Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese telecommunications equipment companies was due to “hysteria”, and urged U.S. lawmakers to stop the bills.

Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comments at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced bills that would ban the sale of U.S. chips or other components to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], ZTE Corp or other Chinese firms that violate U.S. sanctions or export control laws.

The bills specifically cite ZTE and Huawei, both of which are viewed with suspicion in the United States because of fears that their switches and other gear could be used to spy on Americans.