BEIJING -- A spokesman with China's commerce ministry said Friday that it was "unjust" for the Australian government to ban Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei from bidding on local broadband network contracts.

China is "deeply concerned" over the matter, said Shen Danyang, a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce.

Huawei Technologies has been rejected by the Australian government from bidding for work on a 35.9-billion-Australian-dollar high-speed broadband network for cyber security reasons.

Australia should not expel Chinese companies from fair market competitions in the name of security, Shen said.

Huawei has provided broadband network equipment and services for many countries around the globe, and Huawei Australia, which was bidding for the contract, has been operating in Australia for almost 10 years without any unfavorable record, he said.

Nearly 90 percent of employees of Huawei Australia are Australian, Shen added.

The spokesman stressed that China and Australia have signed a bilateral investment treaty, and that trade and economic cooperation have boomed between the two countries in recent years.

Therefore, both sides should create a fair and discrimination-free market environment and promote the healthy development of Sino-Australian economic and trade cooperation with an open, cooperative and constructive attitude, he said.