Beijing denounces US chip curbs as threat to global supply chains

Beijing has condemned the latest efforts by US lawmakers to curb Chinese access to leading semiconductor chips and chipmaking equipment, warning that they would lead to “arbitrary disruption and damage” to global supply chains.The stark assessment followed reports on Tuesday that three major export control bills targeting China – the AI Overwatch Act, the Match Act and the Chip Security Act – are set to be folded into the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) in the US Senate, the annual defence policy bill passed by the US Congress, marking a significant escalation in US-China tech competition.Liu Chang, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a statement that, while the NDAA is a US domestic bill, Beijing nonetheless “firmly reject[s] inserting negative content about China into the draft legislation”.“The global industrial and supply chains come into shape as a result of both the law of the market and the choices of businesses,” he said. “Arbitrary disruption and damage to the global industrial and supply chains serves no one’s interest and to do so will receive no support.”“The US should stop politicising, weaponising and ideologising economic, trade and sci-tech issues, stop blocking and hobbling Chinese companies, respect the law of the market economy and free trade rules, and defend the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.”