US curbs on Chinese chips slammed

China will take firm measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of its companies, following the United States' latest attempt to block the global use of Huawei Technologies' Ascend artificial intelligence chips, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

At a weekly news briefing in Beijing, ministry spokeswoman He Yongqian said that the latest US announcement to tighten export controls on Chinese chip products is a typical example of unilateral bullying, exposing the protectionist and unilateral nature of its trade policy.

The ministry's remarks followed guidance issued by the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday, stating that the use of Huawei Technologies' Ascend AI chips "anywhere in the world" would breach US export controls, marking an escalation in Washington's efforts to hinder China's technological advancement.