Monday, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao called Japan’s export restrictions on semiconductors a “wrongdoing” that “seriously violated” international economic and trade rules, according to a ministry statement.
During Wang’s talks with Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura on May 26 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Detroit, China issued its most recent condemnation of export restrictions.
Japan, along with the Netherlands, consented in January to match U.S. export controls limiting the sale of certain chipmaking equipment to China and has placed export restrictions on 23 categories of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to its neighbor.
China has urged Japan to lift its ban on semiconductor exports.
In an effort to halt China’s work on supercomputers that can be used to develop nuclear weapons systems and artificial intelligence systems, the United States imposed restrictions last year.
In its statements regarding export controls, Japan has not singled out China, stating only that it is upholding its responsibility to contribute to international peace and stability.
The Chinese commerce ministry stated in a statement released on Monday that China “is willing to work with Japan to promote practical cooperation in key economic and trade areas.”
Nishimura met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday, and the two resolved to intensify cooperation in the research and development of advanced chips and technologies, such as quantum computation and artificial intelligence.
Wang met with Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai at the summit, where he criticized U.S. economic and trade policies toward China, including the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which excludes China and seeks to provide a U.S.-centered alternative to its influence.
This month, the United States, Japan, and other members of the Group of Seven (G7) agreed to “de-risk” but not decouple from China, reducing their exposure to the world’s second-largest economy in everything from semiconductors to minerals.
