The US administration has recommended that state-owned China Mobile, the world's biggest cell phone carrier, be denied a licence to operate in the US, prompting Beijing to warn Washington to shun "Cold war mentality".

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which is a part of the US Department of Commerce, cited national security risks in a statement sent on Monday to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent agency that will take the final decision, with its recommendations, Efe reported on Tuesday.