General

China filed a lawsuit against the US ban on chip exports to China at the WTO on the 12th. Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, pointed out at a regular press conference on the 13th that the abuse of export control measures by the US to hinder the normal international trade of chips and other products would distort the global semiconductor supply chain and disrupt international trade.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin: In recent years, the US side has repeatedly abused national security excuses to interfere with the normal development of international trade, which is widely opposed by the international community. Recently, the WTO ruled that the United States selectively imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum products of some WTO members in 2018 on the grounds of national security, violating WTO rules, and rejected the defense of the United States invoking the WTO security exception clause. Facts have proved that the security exception clause is not a safe haven for unilateralism and protectionism. Countries should step forward and stop ignoring Washington's unilateralism and protectionism. This is not only related to the stability of the global trading system, but also the morality of international trade.

The Ministry of Commerce said that it is a typical trade protectionism practice for the US side to block the normal international trade of chips and other products. China's filing a lawsuit is a necessary way to defend its legitimate rights and interests. It is hoped that the US side will correct its wrong practices in a timely manner, stop disrupting the trade of high-tech products such as chips, and maintain the normal economic and trade exchanges between China and the US.

In October this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a number of export control measures to China, aimed at limiting China's ability to acquire advanced computing chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and manufacture advanced semiconductors.

Bloomberg reported that China's move meant that the United States had 60 days to consult. If it could not be resolved, China could ask the WTO to set up a panel. This case may take several years to pass the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

However, Hodge, spokesman of the US Trade Representative Office, previously responded that China had proposed consultations with the US on semiconductor export control measures, but he said that the US action involved the so-called "national security" and was not suitable for discussion in the WTO.