"We hope the United States will give up its 'Cold War' mindset," Commerce Ministry spokesman Chong Quan said, according to the People's Daily.

"The United States should adopt constructive measures to promote bilateral high-tech trade in order to amend the imbalances in Sino-US trade and promote the healthy, comprehensive development of trade ties," he said.

Chong was speaking in reaction to proposed new rules published last week by the United States, demanding that American companies seek licenses for 47 different high-tech product categories before exporting them to China.

"Right now, we're studying the proposal and we're listening to the views of industry, after which we will come out with an assessment," Chong said, according to the People's Daily.

"Setting up obstacles to normal bilateral trade is not in the interest of enterprises of the two sides and not conducive to the healthy development of Sino-US trade ties," he said.

The United States introduced restrictions on the export to China of high technology items that could be used for military purposes following the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy protests in 1989.