China's sole commercial satellite launch service provider China Great Wall Industry Corp. (CGWIC) said on Friday it strongly opposes the move by the United States to freeze its assets in the U.S. on groundless allegation that it provided support to Iran's missile program.

"On June 13, 2006, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the CGWIC in the list of entities whose assets in the U.S.A. are blocked on account of so called CGWIC's provision of support to Iran's missile program," said the company in a statement made available to Xinhua late Friday.

"The CGWIC hereby expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this action," the company said.

"The CGWIC has never rendered assistance to any country for any weapon of mass destruction program," the company said in the statement.

"The CGWIC is engaged in business for the peaceful application of space technology. the CGWIC strictly abides by the relevant domestic and international laws, and all commitments made by the Chinese Government towards the international community while conducting launch services, international trade and international transportation," said the Chinese company.

The company said "It is simply unreasonable that the US Government alleged the CGWIC engaging in proliferation activities and imposed sanction, pursuant to its domestic laws, on the CGWIC, a company working for the well-being of the people."

"The true purpose of such an action is known to all," the company said.

" By applying its domestic laws, the U.S. Government seriously interfered in the normal business activities of the Chinese company engaged in peaceful cause, which resulted in severe damage to CGWIC's reputation and economic interests.

The CGWIC strongly demands that the U.S. Government make correction to its wrong action, remove the CGWIC from the assets to be blocked list and compensate all CGWIC losses," said the company.

"In addition,the CGWIC reserves the rights to hold the U.S. Government accountable for its responsibilities by taking various measures including legal means," according to the statement.

The CGWIC is a responsible and credible state-owned company in China with its business scope focusing on international commercial launch services and the import and export of aerospace products, said the company.

During the past decades, The CGWIC has conducted 24 international commercial launch missions and six piggyback missions, launching 30 satellites.

Commercial satellites successfully launched by the CGWIC cover more than 100 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, America and Australia, providing telecommunications services to 75 percent of the world population. Nine out of 12 geo-stationary satellites successfully launched provide direct services to Asia, according to the company.

China was a new comer on the international commercial satellite launch market with its Long March rocket carrier about two decades ago.

China's cheap and reliable launch service made the company a strong competitor on the world market.

But Chinese space experts said the company suffered serious setback on the international market during the past decade as its overseas launch service almost came to a halt due to intervention by the United States.

Some people in the United States is not happy to see a China with a strong space sector, said the experts.

Despite blockade of high technology by some countries, China has managed to become the third country in the world to send its astronauts to the space in the past few years using home-made rocket and spacecraft.

Source: Xinhua