BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese authorities on Wednesday defended its ban on merchandise from U.S. reminiscence chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. in some pc methods after Washington expressed concern, including to strains over know-how and safety.

The safety evaluation of Micron merchandise was “conducted in accordance with the law,” mentioned a overseas ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning.

The Cyberspace Administration of China on Sunday mentioned Micron merchandise have unspecified safety dangers however gave no particulars. It banned them from computer systems that deal with delicate data.

That got here after Washington, Japan and the Netherlands blocked Chinese entry to know-how to make superior processor chips on safety grounds at a time when the ruling Communist Party is threatening to assault Taiwan and is extra assertive towards its different Asian neighbors.

“China’s cybersecurity review does not target specific countries or regions,” Mao mentioned. “We do not exclude technologies and products from any country.”

Companies on each side have been buffeted by provide disruptions and misplaced gross sales income.

Restrictions by Washington and its allies on entry to chips and instruments to make them hamper China’s efforts to develop its personal chip business. U.S. distributors have misplaced billions of {dollars} of potential gross sales to Chinese smartphone makers, chip foundries and different clients.

Mao complained the United States has imposed restrictions on greater than 1,200 Chinese corporations on safety grounds “without any factual basis.” She accused Washington of misusing nationwide safety as an excuse to “unreasonably suppress Chinese companies.”

“This is economic coercion and is unacceptable,” Mao mentioned.

The U.S. authorities is “engaging directly” with Beijing to “make our view clear” concerning the Micron ban, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioned Monday.

“We have very serious concerns,” mentioned Miller. Referring to the People’s Republic of China, he mentioned, “This action appears inconsistent with the PRC’s assertions that it is open for business and committed to a transparent regulatory framework.”

Micron will cooperate with the Chinese regulator and is evaluating the ban’s impression, in accordance with its chief monetary officer, Mark Murphy.

“We remain unclear as to what security concerns exist,” Murphy mentioned on a JP Morgan know-how business convention name. “We’ve had no complaints from customers on the security of our products.”

Micron estimates it'd lose gross sales equal to a single-digit proportion of complete income, however the closing determine is dependent upon what clients and merchandise are affected, Murphy mentioned.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Qin Gang pressed his Dutch counterpart for entry to chipmaking know-how that has been blocked on safety grounds.

China wants a machine out there solely from a single Dutch firm, ASML Holding NV, that makes use of ultraviolet gentle to etch microscopic circuits on next-generation chips. Without that, the ruling celebration’s efforts to develop chips for smartphones, synthetic intelligence and different superior purposes are stalled.

“China has serious concerns about this,” Qin mentioned. “We should work together to jointly protect the normal trade order between us” and “keep the global industrial and supply chains stable.”

The Dutch minister, Wopke Hoekstra, mentioned he “shared our national security concerns” and gave no indication his authorities’s place modified.

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Micron Technology Inc.: www.micron.com

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