On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the United States of violating international trade rules and the principles of a market economy, over proposed bans on Chinese citizens buying real estate in the United States.

During a regular press briefing, spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Generalizing the concept of national security and politicising economic, trade and investment issues violate the rules of market economy and international trade rules.”

Mao was responding to a media question regarding proposed bans on Chinese citizens buying United States property which are being considered in Texas and Florida.

According to several reports, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and other states, have all recently been considering laws which would bar Chinese citizens from purchasing properties in the United States.

The rules are viewed as an outgrowth of increasing tensions between the two nations, as well as concerns over national security, and the potential for some properties near sensitive sites to be used for espionage purposes. They also appeal to politicians as a way to potentially reduce any extraneous demand in the real estate market so as to help Americans who want to buy houses, but which are priced out of them by massive pools of demand which are further swollen by foreign purchasers.

Mao said, “I want to stress that China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. Over the years, Chinese enterprises have invested in the United States and made important contributions to promoting domestic employment and economic development in the United States.”

The measures are now being debated as tensions have grown following China’s flight of a spy balloon over US airspace. The United States show down the balloon, which China claims was an innocent scientific experiment that was abiding by international rules.