BEIJING Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao urged Japan to halt semiconductor export controls, saying it was a wrongdoing that seriously violated international economic and trade rules.
China's latest condemnation of the export restrictions was made during Wang's talks with Japan Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC conference in Detroit on May 26.
Japan, along with the Netherlands, has agreed to match U.S. export controls that will restrict the sale of some chipmaking tools to China, and has placed restrictions on the export of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to its neighbour.
The United States imposed the requirements last year to slow China's work on supercomputers that can be used to develop nuclear weapons systems and artificial intelligence systems.
Japan has not singled out China in its statements about export controls, only that it is fulfilling its obligation to contribute to international peace and stability.
Monday's statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry, however, said that China is willing to work with Japan to promote practical cooperation in key economic and trade areas. On Friday, Nishimura met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and they agreed to enhance cooperation in the research and development of advanced chips and technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
The summit was also attended by Raimondo and the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who criticised U.S. economic and trade policies against China, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which excludes China and aims to provide a U.S. centered alternative to its influence.
The U.S. and other advanced nations agreed to de-risk but not decouple from China, reducing their exposure to the world's second-largest economy in everything from chips to minerals.