China’s Xi urges greater innovation amid tech curbs from US

BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping, on an inspection tour of a major industrial province, renewed his call for greater innovation and technological self-reliance, as the United States intensifies curbs on Chinese access to advanced technologies.

China should accelerate the upgrades of key technologies and core products, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday (Jul 7), citing Xi during his visit to a company’s high-tech manufacturing zone in eastern Jiangsu province.

“With the rapid development of information technology and the emergence of disruptive technologies at any time, it is necessary to maintain a solid footing on the path of innovation and contribute to the realisation of high-level self-reliance in technology,” Xi said.

Xi’s call to strengthen technological innovation comes as US-China tensions over semiconductors that began with the Trump administration’s trade war intensify under President Joe Biden’s leadership.

Washington is mulling new restrictions on sales of artificial intelligence microchips, following a sweeping set of export controls last year to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment.