China voices concern over chip curbs in call with Raimondo

A senior Chinese official has raised concern with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo over US measures to limit China’s access to advanced chipmaking technology, highlighting a contentious area in relations between the two countries.

China’s Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, expressed “grave concerns” in a call with Raimondo on Thursday over the US move to pressure ASML Holding NV to expedite the halt of some lithography machine exports, the Chinese agency said in a statement. Raimondo’s department is responsible for implementing US export controls. 

Dutch firm ASML canceled shipments of some of its high-end products to China at the behest of the US, weeks before export bans on those machines were due to come into effect, Bloomberg News has reported.

In his call with Raimondo, Wang also raised the issue of current efforts by her department to survey American firms across industries to determine how deeply reliant they are on Chinese-produced chips. US officials are considering imposing tariffs on low-priced chips from China, Bloomberg News has reported. Washington’s measures are tailored to prevent China’s military from accessing advanced technology, officials argue, but those sanctions are also making business harder for Chinese companies seeking to build on the latest available technology.

The exchange on Thursday was only the second time that Wang and Raimondo’s communications were made public since her visit to the Asian nation in August.

While she was on that trip, Huawei Technologies Co. launched the surprising Mate 60 Pro handset running on an advanced made-in-China chip that sanctions were meant to prevent. Raimondo expressed her displeasure with the timing and vowed to take the “strongest possible” action to protect US national security. 

Earlier in 2023, Raimondo’s email was breached in a hack of government accounts that Microsoft Corp. has said originated in China. She later told Chinese officials the incident eroded trust.

The two countries’ leaders have made signals toward mending ties, from Joe Biden saying he wants the US to help China’s economy to Xi Jinping urging “peaceful coexistence” between the world’s two biggest economies.