Launching anti-dumping and anti-discrimination probes, China escalates chip dispute before trade talks with Washington in Madrid.
China has launched two investigations into the US semiconductor sector just days before trade talks with Washington in Madrid. The move, announced Saturday by China’s Ministry of Commerce, heightens tensions ahead of a meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng scheduled between Sunday and Wednesday.
The ministry said it had begun an anti-dumping probe into certain analogue IC chips imported from the US, including commodity interface and gate driver IC chips, often produced by Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor. A separate anti-discrimination investigation will examine US measures that Beijing argues unfairly target China’s semiconductor industry.
A ministry spokesperson accused Washington of attempting to “contain and suppress” China’s development of high-tech sectors, including artificial intelligence and advanced chips.
The announcement followed the US decision on Friday to add 23 Chinese companies to its “entity list”, restricting access to American technology. Two of the firms were accused of acquiring equipment for chipmaker SMIC.
The Madrid talks mark the latest in a series of negotiations aimed at delaying higher reciprocal tariffs and avoiding escalation. Meetings have previously taken place in Geneva, London and Stockholm.
Both sides have repeatedly extended 90-day pauses on tariff hikes, though disputes over semiconductors remain a central fault line in the relationship.
