May 30, 2023
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo voiced a strong protest against China’s recent move to prohibit the purchase of Micron Technology memory chips.
Speaking at a news conference after a meeting of trade ministers in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework discussions led by the United States, Raimondo made it clear that such behavior would not be tolerated and that measures were being taken in collaboration with partners to address this issue of “economic coercion.”
Raimondo stressed that China’s targeting of a specific American company, Micron, without any evidence amounted to an unmistakable act of economic coercion, which the United States strongly opposes. She firmly stated that the US would not accept such behavior and expressed skepticism about its potential for success.
During her remarks, Raimondo revealed that she had discussed the issue of Micron with China’s Commerce Minister. She underscored that the agreements reached during the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations were in line with the US investments outlined in the CHIPS Act. This Act, backed by a $52 billion plan, aims to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
It was on May 21 that China’s cyberspace authority announced that Micron had failed its network security examination and, as a consequence, had been barred from supplying key infrastructure operators.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
