BEIJING (AP) — China's foreign minister has endorsed tech giant Huawei's legal fights with the U.S. government, saying Chinese companies shouldn't be "silent lambs."

Asked at a news conference about Canada's arrest of a Huawei executive on U.S. criminal charges, Wang Yi said Friday that cases against Chinese companies and individuals abroad were "deliberate political suppression."

He said Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to defend Chinese companies and that it supports companies using "legal weapons" to defend themselves instead of being "silent lambs."

On Thursday, Huawei announced a lawsuit in a U.S. court aimed at overturning restrictions on sales of its telecom equipment.

Wang gave no details of what China's government might do.