China Warns Resolute Response to Japan over Chip Export Curbs

BEIJING, July 24 (TiPost)— China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that Beijing will take resolute response if Japan does not reverse its course to impose curbs on tech sector.

Credit：TiPost

China is deeply dissatisfied with Japan’s recent export restrictions that explicitly target China, as Japan went ahead with its restrictions despite China’s serious concerns, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning commented on Monday, a day after Japan’s new export restrictions on 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipments came into effect.

Mao noted certain countries, though not specifying U.S. or its allies including Japan, have been politicizing economic and trade issues and abusing export controls, to push for decoupling and disrupt industrial and supply chains in the high-tech sector. Mao suggested Japanese new restrictions would have no good to the two countries’ economic and trade cooperation, nor do Japan’s long-term interests. China urged Japan not to abuse export controls and make sure its action does not disrupt normal semiconductor cooperation between our two countries, said Mao. “We will closely follow the impact of the restrictions and resolutely protect our own interests”, the spokesperson warned.

China has made serious démarches to Japan at various levels since Japan announced in March about its plan to tighten exports on 23 types of advanced chip-making equipments, joining in the U.S. and the Netherlands in restricting sales of key technology to China.

China firmly opposed Japanese planned export restrictions, which is an abuse of export controls and a severe departure from free trade and international economic and trade rules, the Ministry of Commerce said, in a statement in May. The statement called on Japan to immediately stop the wrong doing, and said China would take measures to resolutely safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests. The Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in late May reiterated the strong opposition against Japanese export curbs and urged Japan to make correction to protect stability of global supply chain. Wang said he hoped Japanese counterpart correct its perception of China, and promote the stable development of bilateral economic and trade relations with a real constructive attitude.

Japan’s new attempt to curb China will turn out a failure and end up with a Waterloo for its chip industry, Chinese the state-backed newspaper the Global Times cited domestic analysts. These analysts also expected that the countermeasures could come out soon as China will take all necessary measures to safeguard its own interests. They added that China has abundant countermeasures including potential bans on export of strategic raw materials and restrictions on foreign chipmakers that aid the US’ malicious crackdown on China.

China said in the beginning of the month that an export control on shipments of some metals that are used in chipmaking as well as defense, communications and green energy will come into effect on August 1. The move, aiming to protect national security, was deemed as the latest response to U.S.’s increasing efforts for more curbs on China’s high-tech industry.

Gallium-related items such as gallium metal, gallium nitride, gallium oxide, gallium phosphide, etc., and germanium-related items such as germanium metal, zone refined ingots, zinc germanium phosphide and germanium dioxide, shall not be exported without permission from August 1, according to an announcement of the Ministry of Commerce.

Gallium is mainly used for semiconductor and photoelectric materials, solar cells, alloys, medical devices and magnetic materials in China. 80% of the metal output was consumed by the semiconductor industry. Germanium is an important semiconductor material with wide and important applications in semiconductors, aerospace measurement and control, radiation detection for nuclear physics, fiber-optic communication, infrared optics, solar cells, chemical catalysts and biomedicine.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin stressed the export control is “completely legitimate and justified” and it is not used to target any specific country. He pointed out industrial products and materials containing gallium and germanium apparently can be used for both military and civilian purposes, and EU members have also imposed export control over relevant products and materials.

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