China accuses US of “undermining trade rules” after Washington rejected Intel’s plan to manufacture microchips in the Asian nation

Posted: Nov 15, 2021 14:50 GMT

From the Foreign Ministry of China they urged the US to “adopt a correct attitude, follow the trend of the time” and “discard the zero-sum mentality.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian commented at a press conference on Monday that the Joe Biden Administration’s rejection of Intel’s plan for chip production in the Asian giant is another sign that trade barriers imposed by the US undermine international trade rules.

“Globalization is an objective reality and a historical trend. The US has repeatedly exceeded the concept of national security and abused state power to politicize and weaponize science, technology, and economic and trade issues based on ideology, and has intentionally established trade and investment barriers against specific countries, “the spokesperson said.

Zhao urged Washington to abandon “the zero-sum mentality”, as these attitudes “not only undermine the rules of international trade and divide the global market, but also end up hurting others and the US itself.”

“We urge the US to adopt the right attitude, follow the trend of the times, discard the zero-sum mentality, seriously defend a fair and non-discriminatory market environment, and take concrete action to build an open world economy,” he said. the spokesperson.

Intel, the largest manufacturer of integrated circuits, had proposed to start producing microchips at a factory in the Chinese city of Chengdu, with the aim of addressing a global shortage of these. The company had approached the US authorities with a plan to increase by the end of 2022 the volume of US production of silicon wafers, a key component in the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits, as well as to start its manufacture in the Asian country.

Refusal of the White House

The Biden Administration rejected Intel’s initiative due to security concerns in a debate over restricting certain strategic investments in China.

A US government representative told Bloomberg that the Administration is “very focused on preventing China from using US technologies, know-how and investments to develop cutting-edge capabilities,” which, according to the interviewee, could contribute to human rights abuses. or activities that threaten US national security.