China’s Ministry of Commerce claims that the United States is weaponizing export regulations and utilising them as a tactic.

”We are highly concerned about the United States’ direct intervention and interference in the issue of high-tech exports by Dutch companies to China,” spokesperson Shu Jueting said at the ministry’s first press conference in 2024, according to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin-language remarks.

“The United States has instrumentalized and weaponized export control issues,” she said, calling for the Dutch side to “respect the spirit of the contract and support businesses in conducting compliant trade.”

She was responding to a question on ASML, a business based in the Netherlands that manufactures lithography machines used in the manufacturing of sophisticated semiconductors.

ASML announced in a statement on January 1 that the Dutch government has prohibited company from exporting some lithography products to China.

Last year, the Dutch government put new limitations on the export of specific equipment used to manufacture sophisticated semiconductors. The move followed US export limits aimed at limiting the Chinese military’s access to advanced semiconductor technology.

ASML stated in the statement that after consulting with the US government, it discovered that the most recent US export guidelines in October cover certain lithography tools.

China “firmly opposes” such initiatives and will take “necessary measures” to preserve its business interests, Shu stated.

Last year, the ministry established export curbs on some metals needed in chip manufacturing.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao also expressed worries about US semiconductor export regulations during a call with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday, according to the ministry.

Wang “focused on expressing serious concern about U.S. restrictions on third-party exports of lithography machines to China, investigations into the supply chain of legacy chips, and sanctions that suppress Chinese companies,” according to the ministry in a Chinese-language readout translated by media.

A request for comment made outside of US business hours was not immediately responded to by the US Department of Commerce.

(Adapted from CNBC.com)