Chinese chip bosses protest ‘wrong’ US restrictions

Shanghai, China, Oct 13 (EFE).- Chinese semiconductor employers said they’re opposed Thursday to restrictions announced by the United States on the purchase of chips by companies or individuals from the country, the official China Daily newspaper reported.

In a statement, the China Association of the Semiconductor Industry said this ban, announced at the end of last week, represents an interference in international trade.

“We hope that the US government corrects its incorrect practices in a timely manner,” said the organization, which called for “seeking consensus.”

Likewise, the Association urged Washington to “return to the framework of the consultation mechanism on international trade” sponsored by the World Semiconductor Council and the Assembly of Governments and Authorities on Semiconductors.

On Friday, the US Department of Commerce denounced a new order that will prevent Chinese companies or individuals from accessing microchips or components manufactured in the US, under threat of inclusion on its list of sanctions for foreign companies that do not comply with the measure.

The announcement was a heavy blow to companies such as Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, which plunged 8.3 percent Tuesday on the stock market, falling to its lowest listing levels since mid-2020.

However, the world’s second largest producer, South Korea’s SK Hynix, announced Wednesday that Washington will exempt it from complying with the measure for one year to keep its operations in China intact. This exemption, according to sources quoted Thursday by Japanese newspaper Nikkei, was also received by TSMC.

According to US authorities, who recently approved a law to stimulate the production of microchips in their territory, China is using its technological advances to spy on its own citizens and develop advanced military technology.

For its part, Beijing called the measure an “intimidation” which “undermines the rules of the market and the international economic and commercial order” and “endangers the stability of industrial supply chains.”

In the face of the open trade war with Washington since March 2018 and the growing diplomatic tensions, China has announced various measures and plans to boost the national semiconductor industry, in which it continues to depend on foreign manufacturers. EFE

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