The U.S. is pushing back against China's ban, which was announced last week and based on vague national security concerns.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke at a news conference yesterday following a multinational trade meeting on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and said the U.S. government firmly opposes China's Micron ban and won t tolerate the restrictions.
Raimondo said that target a single U.S. company without any basis in fact and we see it as plain and simple economic coercion, and we won t tolerate it, nor do we think it will be successful. China has accused Micron, a top U.S. chip manufacturer of semiconductors used in computer memory and data storage hardware, of posing a threat to national security. On May 21, China's cybersecurity agency said that operators of critical infrastructure in China should stop purchasing Micron products, owing to network security risks that negatively affect China's national security. Before China's announcement, the U.S. and G-7 member countries announced new restrictions on China's access to technology used in chip manufacturing.
As we have said at the G-7 and as we have said consistently, we are closely engaging with partners addressing this specific challenge and all challenges related to China's non-market practices, Mr. Raimondo said.
She added that she raised the Micron issue in a meeting with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in a meeting on Thursday.
In response to China s announcement of restrictions last week, Micron said in a statement that it has received the CAC's notice following its review of Micron products sold in China. We are evaluating the outcome and assessing our next steps. We look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities, he said. Over the past year, the U.S. Europe and Japan have taken steps to restrict the import of advanced chips that are utilized in manufacturing processes for vehicles, smartphones, and computers to China, in response to concerns that the Chinese government may use them to advance its military modernization or further internal repression.
The Chinese Communist Party is taking an increasingly aggressive stance towards regional neighbors such as Taiwan and Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
China views the tech restrictions as an effort to block its development and has made progress towards this goal because of concerns that the technology may have a negative impact on Chinese companies that produce many of the world's smartphones, computers and other consumer electronic devices.
While about 10% of Micron's revenue is derived from China, the majority of its sales are made from non-Chinese firms acquiring chips to use in products made in China. It is unclear whether the Chinese government's new restrictions will apply to non-Chinese firms operating in the country.