BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Thursday accused the United States of "abusing export control measures" and urged Washington to correct its practices after the U.S. issued guidance warning companies not to use Huawei's Ascend AI chips.

The guidance threatens the stability of global semiconductor supply chains, Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson He Yongqian told a regular press conference, adding that China will take steps to defend Chinese enterprise's legitimate rights and interests.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security published guidance warning that companies risked violating U.S. export controls by using Huawei's Ascend AI chips, the Shenzhen-based tech company's most advanced semiconductor series.

Huawei's AI chips compete with those of U.S. giant Nvidia for Chinese market share.