China has criticized Taiwan’s efforts to introduce laws that help protect the secrets of its technology sector from theft.

According to China’s Taiwan Affairs, such measures could hurt Taiwan’s business community.

“Recently, they have been deliberately trying to smear and intimidate mainland companies in Taiwan, further escalating cross-strait confrontation and provoking trouble. Such political manipulation cannot hinder the general trend of exchanges and cooperation between compatriots on both sides of the strait, and will only harm the vital interests of Taiwan’s business community and compatriots on the island,” said spokesman Ma Xiaoguang.

The outburst came after Taiwan’s premier called for swift passage of legislation requiring tougher penalties to prevent China from stealing its chip technology.

Taiwan is home to semiconductor giant TSMC and has 92% of the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

For experts, the fact that Taiwan is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to chip production makes Taiwan an attractive material for China.

The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.