China blasts Japan over export curbs on 23 types of chipmaking technology
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China said Japan's decision goes against free trade and international trade regulations.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING – China lashed out at Japan over Tokyo’s new export restrictions on some chipmaking technology and said it would take action to defend its interests, just days after it banned some domestic companies from using semiconductors from US chipmaker Micron Technology.
China “firmly opposes” Japan’s decision to impose curbs on the shipment of 23 types of chipmaking technology, an unnamed spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.
The action is an abuse of export control measures and goes against free trade and international trade regulations, the statement said.
The limits will “severely undermine the interests and rights of Chinese and Japanese companies and China-Japan trade and economic cooperation, damage the landscape of the global semiconductor industry, and impact industrial and supply chain security and stability,” it said. “China will reserve the right to take measures to firmly defend its lawful rights and interests.”
The statement came after Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry published details of the restrictions, which will take effect on July 23.
China has repeatedly complained about the measures since they were announced in March, and in April urged the World Trade Organisation to look into export restrictions on the sale of such chipmaking machines announced by the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.
Japan has defended its actions.
The threat of unspecified consequences follows Beijing’s announcement at the weekend that domestic operators of key infrastructure were banned from buying products from Micron, in its most powerful retaliation yet against US export controls targeting China.
The tech sector has become a key national security battlefield between the world’s two largest economies, with Washington having already blacklisted Chinese tech companies, cut off the flow of sophisticated processors and banned its citizens from providing certain kinds of help to the Chinese chip industry.
Tokyo’s move follows months of lobbying by the US to get Japan and the Netherlands to join it in tightening controls on shipments of semiconductor tools to China.
The new measures will limit the ability of Chinese companies to make the most advanced types of semiconductors. BLOOMBERG
