South Korean prosecutors have charged multiple former Samsung employees with leaking sensitive advanced computing technology to Chinese semiconductor company ChangXin Memory Technologies, an alleged violation of the country’s Industrial Technology Protection Act, Korean newspaper The Chosun reported Dec. 24.

China will take “corresponding measures” if the U.S. “continues down the wrong path” by imposing Section 301 tariffs on semiconductors, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular press conference Dec. 24 in Beijing.

China's Ministry of Commerce said the country has filed a request for consultations at the World Trade Organization over Indian tariffs on information and communication technology products and photovoltaic subsidy measures. China submitted the request Dec. 19, a ministry spokesperson said, adding that it suspects the duties and subsidies violate "several WTO obligations, including binding tariffs and national treatment, and constitute import substitution subsidies, which are expressly prohibited by the WTO."

China has approved certain export license applications submitted by Chinese companies for shipments of controlled rare earths, a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said Dec. 18.

Beijing this week sanctioned former Japanese senior military official Shigeru Iwasaki for accepting a role as a "political consultant" for the Taiwanese government, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Dec. 15 at a press conference. Iwasaki is "colluding with 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces and making provocations," the spokesperson said during a regular daily meeting with reporters. "This amounts to a severe violation of the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs, and a grave infringement on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity." China designated Iwasaki under its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, which freezes any assets he may hold in China, blocks Chinese organizations and people from carrying out transactions with him, and more.

China is introducing new export license requirements for certain metal products starting Jan. 1, the country's Ministry of Commerce said last week, according to an unofficial translation. The measures will impose new export controls on around 300 metal and steel products, including certain iron, scrap metal, steel bars, wire rods, steel pipes, sheets and coils. Foreign traders must "apply for export licenses," which "require the submission of an export contract and a product quality inspection certificate issued by the manufacturer," according to Chinese state-run news outlet Xinhua.

China is beginning a sunset review of its antidumping duties on imports of polyphenylene sulfide from the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Nov. 30, according to an unofficial translation. The measures, which were scheduled to expire at the end of November, have imposed tariffs between 23.3% and 220.9% across the four countries exporting polyphenylene sulfide, which Beijing said is a “high-performance engineering thermoplastic” used in the textile, auto, aerospace and electronics industries. China said it will continue to impose the duties during the sunset review period, which should last one year. Comments are due to the ministry within 20 days.

China again extended its safeguard investigation on imported beef "given the complexity of this case," the country's Ministry of Commerce said, according to an unofficial translation. The ministry opened the probe last December (see 2412300027) and had hoped to complete it in November, but it's now extending the investigation through Jan. 26.

The High Court of Singapore will consider whether an arbitral award can be enforced in Singapore in light of U.S. sanctions on the party slated to receive the award. Earlier this month, Judge Thomas Bathurst declined to first and separately consider whether the enforcement of the award is contrary to Singapore's public policy due to the sanctions, opting instead to consider that question along with the other elements of the arbitral dispute.

The Australian Sanctions Office released eight advisory notes Nov. 6 to "assist the regulated community understand their sanctions risks," the agency said in a press release. Topics include the risks associated with exporting drones to Russia and the cyber risks of North Korean IT workers to Australian businesses.