BEIJING - A spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday China is deeply disappointed at the United States' decision to withhold export control of high-tech products to China, saying such move was "discriminatory."

"The persistent US discrimination against China is not in line with the efforts to establish a Sino-US cooperative relationship of mutual respect that benefits each other," said MOC spokesman Yao Jian in a statement on MOC website.

The remarks of discontent came after the US Department of Commerce rejected the inclusion of China into its new list of license exception, Strategic Trade Authorization (STA), this month.

"On one hand, the United States is mad at its trade deficit with China, yet it restricts exports to China and refuses to facilitate imports by Chinese companies," Yao said, adding that such moves are contradictory.

Yao said US exports to China have expanded rapidly in recent years, but exports of high-tech items lag far behind goods such as agricultural products.

China's trade with the United States climbed by 22.3 percent to $169.52 billion in the first five months of this year with a trade surplus of US$65.5 billion, according to the Customs data.

Yao said the Chinese market potential would open up huge business opportunities for US companies to widen their exports to China.

"The unreasonable export control not only constrains the trade development between the two countries, but directly damages the interests of US firms and reduces their job opportunities," he added.

According to the US Commerce Department, the STA regime aims to build higher fences around a core set of items whose misuse can pose "a national security threat" to the United States.

The new US license exception given to 44 countries and regions eliminated the need for US exporters to seek licenses in nearly 3,000 types of transactions annually.

Items such as electronic components for use on the International Space Station, cameras for search and rescue efforts for fire departments, components for civil aviation navigation systems for commercial aircraft, airport scanners, and toxins for vaccine research will be eligible for the new license exception.

Yao reiterated that loosening of export control against China is a major concern for China.

'We hope the US side can take practical actions and change their discriminations against China to help facilitate a substantial development of Sino-US high-tech trade and promote a trade balance between us," he added.