The government said on Friday, June 26 it was a misunderstanding for some foreign media to label China's latest circulars to boost domestic demand and step up supervision on construction projects as "protectionism".

    The remarks were jointly made by Yao Jian, spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce and Li Pumin, spokesman with the National Development and Reform Commission Friday.

    China issued a circular in early June to boost domestic demand and step up supervision over construction projects, and also asking for public bidding for construction projects.

    Some media, including international news agencies AP and Reuters, labeled it as "Buy China" stimulus measures.

    The spokesmen said that China was against trade protectionism and had been consistently sticking to mutually beneficial principles and actively boosting economic and trade cooperation with other countries amid the global downturn.