An employee showcases a semiconductor integrated circuit at an industry expo on October 31. Photo: VCG

China's Foreign Ministry again expressed concern over new US restrictions on Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) on Wednesday, saying that this move will do harm to global industry, supply and value chains.

China firmly objects to the unreasonable US crackdown on Chinese companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday. 

"As we have stated many times, our solemn stance is that the US' politicization of economic and trade problems has violated market economy and fair competition principles it has always been proud of, and violated international trade rules," Zhao said.

The US' actions not only damage Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests but also don't conform to US companies' interests, he said, noting that normal technology and trade exchanges between the two countries and the world as a whole will be severely disrupted and global industry, supply and value chains will be destroyed.

Chinese companies always stick to legal and compliant operations and strictly comply with local laws and regulations in their international operations, Zhao said. "The US side should immediately stop abusing national power and national security, and stop its misdeeds of cracking down on foreign companies."

The comment came after US Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Michael McCaul urged the Trump administration to strengthen new rules against SMIC, saying the Entity List should be rewritten to close "dangerous loopholes that would allow nearly all sales to SMIC to continue without restriction," Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The US Commerce Department added SMIC on its Entity List on Friday, requiring that for items or technologies utilized by the Chinese company for 10-nanometer (nm) and below technology nodes, a licensing review policy of presumption of denial shall be applied for export license applications.

Aside from the stepped-up crackdown on SMIC, Western media reports said that the US Department of Homeland Security will issue an advisory to US businesses, warning them of data security risks associated with using communications devices and services from China-linked companies.

Zhao accused some US politicians who have a cold war mentality and ideological prejudice of being eager to hype the so-called China challenge and threat theories.

"I want to stress that [the US'] containment and crackdown can't stop China's development," Zhao said, noting that Washington's actions will only harm China-US cooperation and escalate China-US conflicts.

This will make Chinese people more united to build a more powerful China, he said.

"If the US is bent on going along the wrong path, China will take necessary measures to maintain its sovereign security and development interests," Zhao reiterated.

Global Times