BEIJING - China said on Monday the United States should stop abusing the concept of national security and abusing Chinese companies after the U.S. designated tech firms Huawei and ZTE as national security risks.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comments during a daily briefing.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 5-0 on Friday to designate Huawei and ZTE as national security risks, barring their U.S. rural carrier customers from tapping an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase equipment.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Kim Coghill) ((hongkong.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; (8610)6627-1277; Reuters Messaging: roxanne.liu@thomsonreuters.com))