Chip war ramps up with new US semiconductor restrictions on China

The US has announced new export restrictions targeting China's ability to make advanced semiconductors, drawing swift condemnation from Beijing. Washington is expanding efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China that can be used in advanced weapons systems and in artificial intelligence. The announcement on Monday came a few weeks before Donald Trump returns as president, where he is expected to bolster Washington's hawkish stance on China. On Monday the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, said Joe Biden's presidency had been especially tough in "strategically addressing China's military modernisation through export controls". Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: "The United States has taken significant steps to protect our technology from being used by our adversaries in ways that threaten our national security."