China always opposes attempts to overstretch the concept of national security and will resolutely safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in Beijing on Thursday.

The spokesperson made these remarks in response to a relevant query concerning the blocking of access to DeepSeek by some government departments in the Republic of Korea.

Guo said the Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting data privacy and security in accordance with law -- and has never and will never ask companies or individuals to collect or store data in illegal forms.

China always opposes the practice of overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing economic, trade and technological issues, Guo said, adding that China will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.