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The Chinese government has slammed America’s introduction of a slew of export controls on US-made semiconductors that Washington fears Beijing could use to make the next generation of weapons and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
The new measures, unveiled by the outgoing Biden administration, have raised the political temperature between the world’s top two economies ahead of the imminent inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made self-sufficiency a major pillar of his economic strategy to make China a tech superpower.
On Monday, the US Commerce Ministry announced curbs on the sale of two dozen types of semiconductor-making equipment and restrictions on numerous Chinese companies from accessing American technology.
The goal of the new controls, US Commerce Ministry officials said, was to slow China’s development of advanced AI tools that can be used in war and to undercut the country’s homegrown semiconductor industry, which threatens the national security of the US and its allies.
China’s Commerce Ministry condemned the move, accusing the US of “abuse” of export controls and posing “a significant threat” to the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
“The US preaches one thing while practicing another, excessively broadening the concept of national security, abusing export control measures, and engaging in unilateral bullying actions. China firmly opposes such actions,” the ministry said in a Monday statement.
The race for an edge in military technology has shaped US-China relations amid growing US concerns about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in the coming years. China’s ruling Communist Party, which claims the self-ruled democratic island as its own territory despite never having controlled it, has adopted an increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan in recent years.
‘Strongest ever’ controls
Senior US officials have also accused China of outright stealing American-made AI software, which Beijing denies.
“They’re the strongest controls ever enacted by the US to degrade the PRC’s ability to make the most advanced chips that they’re using in their military modernization,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters Sunday, using the acronym for the country’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
Monday’s announcement is the latest round of export restrictions imposed on Beijing by the Biden administration. Last October, the Commerce Ministry reduced the types of semiconductors that American companies can sell to China, citing the desire to close loopholes in regulations announced in 2022.
In September, the Commerce Ministry separately proposed a ban on the sale or import of smart vehicles that use specific Chinese or Russian technology, citing security concerns. The incoming Trump administration has also talked tough on China, including by threatening tariffs.
For its part, China is intensifying its goal to dominate advanced technologies of the future. In May, Beijing announced plans to set up its largest-ever semiconductor state investment fund worth $47.5 billion.
With investments from six of the country’s largest state-owned banks, including ICBC and China Construction Bank, the fund underscores Xi’s push to bolster China’s position as a tech giant.