China Threatens Retaliation As Biden Admin Mulls New Chip Restrictions

The Chinese ambassador to the U.S. said Wednesday that China will retaliate against any new restrictions on the semiconductor industry as the Biden administration considers tightening rules, according to The Associated Press.

Ambassador Xie Feng of China said at the Aspen Security Forum, a security and foreign policy conference, that China will not back down from competition with the U.S. and criticized current U.S. restrictions as “not fair,” according to the AP. The Biden administration met with three top U.S. semiconductor manufacturers Monday to discuss updating rules put in place in October that restrict China’s microchip industry by limiting U.S. companies’ cooperation with Chinese chip manufacturers.

“China is against waging trade war or technological war on the pretext of competition,” Xie said at the conference, according to statements given to the Daily Caller News Foundation by the Chinese embassy. “The US is trying to win by keeping China out and is rallying allies to encircle China. This is not fair. It is also imposing chip export restrictions on China. This is like forcing others to wear outdated swimwear in a swimming contest while one himself wears a Speedo fastskin. China will not make provocation, but we will not flinch from any provocation coming our way.”

The Biden administration put new restrictions in place in October that blacklisted multiple Chinese companies in the semiconductor industry from working with U.S. firms. The restrictions stop Chinese firms from purchasing semiconductors and obtaining the materials required to produce high-tech electronics.

Both the U.S. and China have taken action to gain an advantage in the production of semiconductors, which are essential for the advancement of computing technology and AI development. The U.S. has leveraged its intellectual property claims, while China has leveraged its supply of raw materials and minerals.

China announced that it will be implementing export limits on gallium, germanium and their corresponding chemical compounds starting in August. Those raw resources are important in the production of hardware used for groundbreaking computing technology.