US-China tech war: Beijing counters restrictions with new law to curb sensitive exports
- Restrictions include military and nuclear technology, according to the official news agency Xinhua
- Observers believe the new measures will make it harder for American and Chinese tech firms to operate in the other country
China’s national legislature passed a new law controlling the export of sensitive goods, services and technologies on Saturday in the latest move to counter escalating restrictions on Chinese technology companies by the United States.
The new law will make it more difficult for US and Chinese tech companies to do business in each other’s countries, in particular making it more difficult for Chinese firms to operate globally, analysts said.
The official Xinhua new service published a report on the new law late Saturday night, saying it will come into effect on December 1.
“Any country or region that abuses the export control measures and endangers the national security and interests of the People’s Republic of China,” the report said. It continued “China can take reciprocal measures against that country or region based on actual conditions”, without providing specific examples.
The controlled items include military and nuclear products, as well as other goods, technologies and services, according to Xinhua.
During the final review of the legislation, Ouyang Changqiong, a delegate to the National People’s Congress, proposed that the law should explicitly cover areas such as computer program source codes and algorithms, the state-owned Legal Daily reported.