US Crackdown Sends China Chipmakers Plummeting

The Commerce Ministry on Monday slammed the latest US crackdown on China's chipmaking industry, describing it as bullying and seriously affecting Sino-US exchanges.

A spokesperson called on Washington to stop the action and treat Chinese businesses fairly.

Shares in Chinese semiconductor companies slumped on Monday following the US crackdown to try to slow Beijing's technological and military advances.

The Biden administration published a sweeping set of export controls on Friday, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment.

An index measuring China's semiconductor firms tumbled about 5 percent, and Shanghai's tech-focused board Star Market declined nearly 3 percent in early morning trade.

The raft of measures could amount to the biggest shift in US policy towards shipping technology to China since the 1990s. If effective, they could hobble the country's chip manufacturing industry by forcing American and foreign companies that use US technology to cut off support for some of China's leading factories and chip designers.

China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) dropped nearly 5 percent, NAURA Technology Group slumped 10 percent, the daily limit, and Hua Hong Semiconductor plunged roughly 9 percent by 09:54 Hong Kong time. (Agencies)

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