China's Ministry of Commerce strongly criticized the United States on Wednesday, accusing Washington of weaponizing export controls to suppress China's tech advancement. The response follows the U.S. Department of Commerce's latest move to expand restrictions targeting Chinese-made computing chips, specifically those produced by Huawei.
In a translated statement, the ministry called the U.S. actions "typical unilateral bullying and protectionist practices" that seriously harm the global semiconductor industry and its supply chain. The ministry further argued that the U.S. is violating international law and disrupting the rules of global trade by curbing the use of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips.
The latest guidance from the U.S. Commerce Department states that using Huawei’s chips anywhere in the world could breach U.S. export rules, escalating the two-year effort to prevent China from accessing advanced AI chips. Huawei, already blacklisted by the U.S., now faces broader restrictions aimed at halting the international spread of its semiconductors.
Beijing warned earlier this week that these tightened chip controls could jeopardize a fragile trade truce recently established between the two nations. Tensions have risen as the U.S. attempts to limit China's progress in AI and high-performance computing, citing national security risks.
China has repeatedly called for the U.S. to lift its tech sanctions, arguing that such restrictions not only harm Chinese companies but also destabilize the global tech supply chain. The clash highlights the growing divide between the world’s two largest economies as they compete for dominance in critical technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence.