China slams new U.S. chip export control, vows to protect firms’ rights

China has expressed strong opposition to the U.S. escalation of chip export controls, pledging to take necessary actions to protect the legitimate rights of Chinese businesses, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The remarks were made by He Yadong, spokesman for the MOC, during a press briefing in Beijing, in response to a query over the report that the Biden administration is considering further measures to restrict the sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China. The new measures could possibly be unveiled as soon as next week.

Last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce informed its members in an email that the Biden administration was considering adding up to 200 Chinese chip companies to a trade blacklist, which would restrict most U.S. suppliers from shipping to these firms.

He reiterated China's firm opposition to the U.S. broadening of the concept of national security, the abuse of export controls targeting Chinese firms, and imposing discriminatory restrictions on Chinese companies.

"These actions severely disrupt the international economic and trade order, destabilize global supply chains, and harm the interests of both Chinese and U.S. companies, as well as the global semiconductor industry. We urge the United States to respect the law of the market economy and the principle of fair competition. If the U.S. insists on escalating control measures, China will take necessary measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," the spokesman said.

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter said the latest proposal would sanction fewer Huawei suppliers than initially planned, notably excluding ChangXin Memory Technologies, which is developing AI memory chip technology.

The proposal also targets two chip factories owned by the Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), a key partner of Huawei, as well as over 100 Chinese companies that produce semiconductor manufacturing equipment, rather than the chips themselves.

China slams new U.S. chip export control, vows to protect firms’ rights

China and the European Union (EU) have made progress in their consultations on a price commitment plan for Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), and talks are still ongoing, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

The remarks were made by ministry spokesman He Yadong at a press conference. He noted that various sectors in both China and the EU are looking forward to a proper resolution of the EU's anti-subsidy case involving Chinese EVs.

Building on an existing principled consensus, technical teams from both sides have engaged in intensive consultations and have made some progress thanks to their hard work, the spokesman confirmed.

"The proper handling of the EU's anti-subsidy case involving Chinese EVs is the common expectations of various sectors in both China and the European Union. In accordance with an existing principled consensus, China-EU technical teams have conducted intensive consultations around the price commitment plan and have made some progress thanks to their hard work. So far, talks are still ongoing. China hopes that the two sides will work in the same direction and address each other's legitimate concerns in a pragmatic and balanced manner. Both sides should also meet the expectations of various sectors and jointly advance consultations toward positive outcomes," He said.

China-EU price commitment talks continue, show progress: commerce ministry