China Hits Back at US Chip Sanctions With WTO Dispute

China has hit back against sweeping US export controls on chips, filing a dispute with the World Trade Organization and escalating the tech war between the two countries. From a report: China's commerce ministry said on Monday its WTO complaint was a legal and necessary measure to defend its 'legitimate rights and interests,' after the US Department of Commerce introduced sanctions in early October to make it harder for China to buy or develop advanced semiconductors. 'At a minimum, the case is about China pushing back on how it's perceived as an unfair actor in the global trading world,' said Ben Kostrzewa, an expert on US-China trade relations at Hogan Lovells.

The complaint is the first step in a WTO mediation process, in which the case would normally be put before the Appellate Body. But that body has been suspended due to disagreements among member states, and Kostrzewa said China's complaint was unlikely to 'create any legal effect' unless the group resumed its work. The move comes just weeks after US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping used their first in-person meeting as leaders to signal a joint desire to improve ties between the world's two biggest economies after relations plunged to a multi-decade low.

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