BEIJING, June 27 (Reuters) - China opposes protectionism and will not attempt to block overseas companies or foreign goods from the Chinese market, state media quoted Commerce Minister Chen Deming telling a South Korean official late on Friday.
Chen said a recent instruction to state agencies to procure local products whenever possible for government-backed projects was not a protectionist measure, the official Xinhua agency said.
The term "domestic products" could also include products produced by foreign-funded firms operating in China, he told the South Korea's Minister of Knowledge Economy Lee Youn-ho.
His comments came hours after a similar statement from his ministry and the powerful National Development and Reform planning agency, accusing foreign media of misinterpreting the circular issued in early June.
The notice raised eyebrows at the World Bank and among some European officials.
But the ministry and planning agency said it only reinforced existing guidelines and sought to stop what Beijing viewed as discrimination against local firms.
China's regulations on government procurement do not run counter to its international obligations, as China is not yet a member of the government procurement agreement under the World Trade Organisation, the statement said.
But Chen said Beijing hoped it would sign up soon.
"China applied to join the World Trade Organization's agreement on government procurement a couple of years ago... We hope China might join the agreement soon so as to further open up the government procurement market," he said.
China has also drawn the ire of trading partners with a requirement all personal computers be pre-installed by July 1 with "Green Dam" software that filters out pornographic material, but which critics say may be used for wider censorship. Countries at the World Trade Organisation complained on Friday about the proposed Internet filter rules, which the United States deemed "draconian" and could infringe on the intellectual property rights of U.S. companies.
The European Union urged Beijing to scrap the rule and Japan also voiced concern about the measure.