China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday it would launch an investigation into U.S. exports of so-called mature or legacy chips used in everything from cars to home appliances, over concerns that U.S. companies are unfairly benefiting from subsidies.
“Enterprises are exporting related mature process chip products to China at low prices, harming the legitimate interests of domestic industry,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
Subsidies that give U.S. companies an unfair advantage—Beijing
Unlike high-end chips used to power artificial intelligence, mature node chips are larger in size and used for more mundane tasks such as consumer electronics and communication systems.
The Chinese government said domestic companies have accused the Biden administration of “providing heavy subsidies to the chip sector and giving an unfair competitive advantage to American companies.”
“The concerns of China’s domestic industries are valid, and they have the right to request a trade remedy investigation,” a ministry spokesperson said.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden announced new export rules for advanced computer chips used in artificial intelligence.
The proposed framework is seen as an effort to prevent rivals from accessing advanced technology. This builds on measures introduced in 2023 that restrict exports of certain AI chips to China.
The Chinese government did not say when the investigation would begin or how long it would take.
kb/rmt (AFP, Reuters)
