New US Chip Rule Causing 'Huge Uncertainty,' China Says

China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the latest semiconductor export control rule released by the U.S. last week, saying it has “overextended the concept of national security, arbitrarily modified rules, and tightened control measures.” That the U.S. issued an export control update “less than half a year after the last time” has caused “huge uncertainty.”

The rule, which updated, corrected and clarified portions of the chip export restrictions released by the Bureau of Industry and Security in October (see 2404010020), has “not only created more obstacles for Chinese and U.S. companies to carry out normal economic and trade cooperation and imposed a heavier compliance burden, but has also caused harm to the global semiconductor industry,” a ministry spokesperson told reporters March 31 at a regular press conference, according to an unofficial translation. “This seriously affects the mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises and damages their legitimate rights and interests. China firmly opposes this.”