China was “deeply dissatisfied” and “firmly” opposed to the new restrictions announced by US President Joe Biden to limit his country’s investment in the Asian country’s strategic technology areas. China’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Thursday calling Washington’s actions “examples of economic coercion and technological harassment.” And he warns that the Asian giant will “firmly protect its rights and interests.” The Department of Commerce also joined in criticism of this “politicized action” aimed at “decoupling and cutting off supply chains under the pretense of national security.”
“The United States violates the defense of the market economy and the principle of fair competition, impedes normal corporate business practices, destroys international trade orders, and seriously disrupts the security of supply chains. World Cup,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, which announced that “China reserves the right to take action given the situation.”
Amid a growing rivalry between the two most important economic, technological and military powers of the 21st century, the White House has in recent months imposed a series of restrictions on China’s access to, and halted subsidies for, critical semiconductor manufacturing technologies and tools US high-tech companies produce advanced chips on Chinese soil.
But the executive order signed by Biden on Wednesday goes a step further as it bans US venture capital firms from investing in three key sectors of the Chinese economy: semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. This is one of the most significant moves Washington has taken to limit US investment in China, and comes after months of talks with G-7 members who have been urged by the United States to take similar steps.
Though the United States insists the measure will only affect those specific sectors “because of the role they could play in the development of China’s military, intelligence, surveillance and cybernetic capabilities,” Washington said in Beijing’s eyes not keeping his word that he “does not seek decoupling”, [la reducción del intercambio, principalmente comercial, entre ambas naciones] and as stressed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during their recent visits to the Chinese capital.
Self-sufficiency
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According to Beijing, Washington’s “real purpose is to take away China’s right to develop and thereby maintain its own hegemony.” “It’s about sheer economic coercion and technological harassment,” Foreign Affairs said in its statement Thursday, calling for a “immediate withdrawal” of the measures. Technological self-sufficiency is one of the country’s most pressing challenges. In recent months, the Communist Party has increased its grip on the tech sector, restricting western access to certain materials and technologies for key industries.
Alfredo Montufar-Helu, director of the Chinese Center for Economics and Business, told the Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post that the new US restrictions “could extend to areas that are theoretically not sensitive, like autonomous driving, synthetic biology and that.” Weather”. “. “Restricting certain technologies now could hamper the innovation potential of some commercial products over the next decade,” he added.
In 2022, the value of US foreign direct investment in China was $8,000 million, the lowest since 2005, according to Rhodium Group, while the value of US venture capital investments in the Asian country was 1,000 million dollars (906 million euros), compared to a peak of 19,000 million dollars (17,200 million euros) in 2018.
Biden’s decision could derail a possible trip to China by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who had expressed interest in visiting the Asian country in “late summer”. This summer, Washington made a diplomatic landing with a mandate to find areas for cooperation and rebalance bilateral ties that Beijing has said are “in a critical state.”
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