China Criticizes US Export Controls, Confirms Phase One Trade Deal Signing
China’s Commerce Ministry criticized the U.S. Commerce Department's decision to place export controls on geospatial imagery software (see 2001030024) and said the U.S. export control system will harm U.S. companies. U.S. export controls, which are scheduled to be imposed on a range of emerging technologies (see 1912160032), will also cause global market uncertainty, China said.
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Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
“Restricting and interfering with normal international cooperation will not only harm the interests of relevant companies, including American companies, but also cause market concerns about the U.S. trade and investment environment and the innovation environment, and affect the stability of the international industrial chain,” China’s Commerce Ministry said Jan. 9, according to an unofficial translation.
China said science and technology should be “borderless” and wants to increase cooperation with countries to “share scientific and technological” advancements. “It is hoped that the United States will correct the wrong practice of generalizing national security and abusing export control measures, and create favorable conditions for the normal trade and cooperation of enterprises of various countries,” the ministry said.
China also said its decision to not adjust import quotas for certain grains (see 2001070023) will not impact its commitment to buy more U.S. agricultural goods as part of the phase one trade deal with the U.S. “China will continue to improve the administration of tariff quotas on wheat, corn and rice in accordance with [World Trade Organization] rules and WTO commitments, and will make full use of quotas under market conditions,” the ministry said. “This is not inconsistent with expanding US agricultural imports.”
The ministry also confirmed China’s top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, will be in Washington Jan. 13-15 to sign phase one of the deal. “The teams of both parties are in close communication on the specific arrangements for signing the agreement,” the ministry said.
China is also planning to increase its number of “import trade promotion demonstration zones,” the ministry said, which help in “cultivating import comprehensive service platforms, supply chain platforms, trading platforms, and display platforms.” The four current zones are designed to increase imports by holding trade shows and hosting foreign companies.