China announced this Tuesday that will veto the export of key metals to the United States that have a potential military application in response to Washington’s latest restrictions to curb the Asian giant’s ability to develop advanced microchips.
Washington surprised on Monday by expanding the list of Chinese companies subject to export controls on chip manufacturing equipment in the third major package of restrictions announced by Joe Biden’s government in the last three years.
Like the rest, was designed to limit China’s access to the world’s most advanced microchipsessential for the development of military artificial intelligence and other applications.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called the measures “the strictest controls ever implemented by the United States to degrade China’s ability to manufacture the most advanced chips they use in their military modernization.”
The Biden Administration has insisted in recent years that US security could be jeopardized if China manages to produce these extremely advanced chips.essential for operating artificial intelligence systems and supercomputers that can be used in cyberattacks, the design of new weapons and surveillance systems.
Beijing protested the measure, which its Commerce Ministry described in a statement as an “act of economic coercion,” accusing Washington of “expanding its long-range jurisdiction to interfere in trade between China and third countries,” something it described as “anti-market practice”.
Likewise, the Asian country’s Semiconductor Industry Association indicated today that the restrictions “they once again undermine the consensus on equality, rationality and non-discrimination reached by the global semiconductor industry as well as the purposes of the World Trade Organization”.
“They harm the efforts of global semiconductor professionals to cooperate. It is also an arbitrary modification of trade rules that will cause substantial damage to the security and stability of the global semiconductor supply chain,” the Association added, according to the local press.
Key metals for semiconductors and batteries
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also accused Washington of “saying one thing and doing another,” “constantly generalizing the concept of national security, abusing export control measures and implementing unilateral harassment.”
“China opposes it,” the ministry statement said.which warned that it would take “the necessary measures to protect your rights and legitimate interests.”
Hours later, Commerce announced that it was prohibiting the export to the United States of certain metals categorized as “dual use”, products or materials that have both civil and military applications and that have a potential military application.
These include gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite, key metals for the manufacture of semiconductors or batteries, among others.
The ministry noted that it took the measure, which becomes effective today, “in order to protect the security and interests of China” and to “comply with international obligations such as non-proliferation.”
“Any organization or individual from any country or region that violates the above provisions and transfers or provides dual-use items originating in the People’s Republic of China to organizations or individuals in the United States will be responsible according to the law,” adds the ministerial note.
In July, China, which accounts for more than 95% of the world’s gallium and 67% of germanium production, had already announced general restrictions on the export of both elements.
A month later, it also announced that it would impose limitations on the export of antimony, a metal used in various industrial sectors such as battery manufacturing, and, in October, it decided to apply adjustments to its export control policies related to graphite products in pursuit of “national security”.
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