CHINA has filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over US restrictions on chip exports, accusing Washington of threatening global supply chains, Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Monday (Dec 12).

The US in October announced new export controls aimed at restricting China’s ability to buy and manufacture high-end chips with military applications. The controls applied to some chips used in supercomputing, and included stricter requirements on the sale of semiconductor equipment.

The US Commerce Department said that the move was to prevent “sensitive technologies with military applications” from being acquired by China’s military, intelligence and security services. Days before this, the Pentagon added 13 Chinese companies, including drone manufacturer DJI and surveillance company Zhejiang Dahua Technology, to a blacklist of military-linked entities.

China’s push to further its own semiconductor industry, and to develop advanced military systems, has been complicated by the export controls.

Its foreign ministry on Tuesday said that the US has “repeatedly used national security as an excuse to interfere in the normal operation of international trade”.

“All countries should stand up and not let Washington’s unilateralism and protectionism go unchecked,” said spokesman Wang Wenbin at a routine briefing.

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“This concerns the stability of the global trade system, and more importantly, international justice.”

China’s Ministry of Commerce on Monday accused the United States of “obstructing normal international trade in products including chips and threatening the stability of the global industrial supply chain”, as well as violating international trade rules and engaging in “protectionist practices”.

The ministry said that the WTO dispute was to defend China’s “legitimate rights and interests”. It urged Washington to “give up zero-sum thinking”.

China and the US have long faced off over a range of issues, including technology, trade, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and human rights. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden pledged to repair frayed relations at a summit in Bali, Indonesia last month. AFP