(Bloomberg) — President Xi Jinping called on China to step up innovation, accusing other countries of monopolizing certain key technologies, highlighting an escalating dispute between China and the United States over semiconductors.
China has “made great progress” in science, but its “independent innovative capabilities are still relatively weak, some important core technologies are dominated by others and there is a shortage of top scientific and technological talent,” he said.
Speaking at a national science conference on Monday, Xi cited “bottlenecks and constraints in areas such as integrated circuits, industrial machine tools, basic software and advanced materials.”
The Treasury Department announced last week that proposed new rules would restrict foreign investment in technologies essential to “next-generation military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber capabilities that pose national security risks to the United States.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said nearly a year ago that the planned investment controls would be focused and complement existing export controls.These restrictions, announced in October 2022, mark an escalation in the technology war between Washington and Beijing, blocking the sale of advanced semiconductors as well as the technology and know-how to manufacture them.
China's Commerce Ministry on Monday urged the United States to respect fair competition and withdraw the proposed investment restrictions, adding that China has the right to take measures in response.
In his speech, President Xi said China remains committed to its goal of “building itself into a scientific and technological power by 2035.”
He added that this goal “will underpin a comprehensive leap forward in our economic strength, our defense strength and our overall national strength.”
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