Belgian Economy Minister Vincent van Quickenborne said in an interview that China’s economic micromanagement is stifling small enterprises, Reuters reported. The minister said that the Chinese government gives easy financing to Huawei, a Chinese technology giant, at the rate of US$30 billion, artificially inflating its competitiveness. He also argued that certain economic sectors are overly protected from foreign competition by government regulation. "The country is closed. If you want to compete in these sectors, there’s no way you can get in," the minister said. His remarks echo similar complaints made by US and European business leaders over the past year that Chinese regulators have been actively discriminating against foreign firms operating in select sectors of China’s economy. During Chinese President Hu Jintao’s recent state visit to the US, President Barack Obama called attention to the allegations, saying that Chinese and foreign companies operating in China must be dealt with equitably.