Chinese officials have moved to register their objections to a newly proposed U.S. legislative package that would tighten limitations on the sale and maintenance of chipmaking equipment to firms in China, signaling the issue will be part of discussions this week in Beijing during a scheduled meeting between the two countries' leaders.
The proposal, commonly referred to as the MATCH Act, was introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate last month as lawmakers sought to address perceived vulnerabilities in U.S. technology exports to China. While the executive branch has been cautious about issuing fresh technology export controls, Congress has advanced legislation designed to narrow gaps in existing controls that could allow Chinese chipmakers to obtain critical equipment for producing AI semiconductors.
Beijing has not responded passively. Chinese diplomats have voiced public criticism of the draft law, and officials have prepared a menu of potential responses should the legislation become law. According to a person briefed on interactions between the two sides, Chinese authorities summoned diplomats from the U.S. embassy in China to lodge formal complaints about the proposed bill - a move that illustrates how seriously Beijing views the matter. Separately, China’s Ministry of Commerce convened U.S. chip industry representatives at its Washington embassy in April to discuss semiconductor-related issues, including the MATCH Act, according to another source. The identities of the companies called in were not disclosed.
"Congress understands how important it is for the United States to win the AI race with China - and Beijing understands its chipmaking industry is extremely vulnerable to American export control," said Ryan Fedasiuk, a former adviser for U.S.-China affairs at the U.S. State Department. Fedasiuk is among those expecting the legislation to be raised during the upcoming Beijing meeting.
The leaders' meeting will be the first since a fragile trade truce was reached in South Korea last year. While agendas for such high-level talks typically span many topics, sources said the MATCH Act has already been flagged in pre-summit briefings by Chinese officials.
The White House has so far refrained from taking a public position on the bill. A White House official declined to comment on the legislation or whether it would be discussed during the leaders' meeting, saying, "We don’t get ahead of the President on pending legislation." A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on whether the bill had been raised in diplomatic meetings or on the embassy’s reported outreach to U.S. industry representatives.
China’s statements have been forceful since the legislation was introduced. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, accused the U.S. of trying to "coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China" in response to questions about the MATCH Act. China’s Ministry of Commerce also warned that should the bills be enacted into law, they would "severely undermine the international economic and trade order," and pledged that China would "decisively take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises."
In mid-April, Beijing issued a decree that provides tools it could use to counter U.S. regulatory moves like the MATCH Act. The measure includes the provision to place entities that promote or implement what Beijing deems improper foreign extraterritorial measures on a "Malicious Entity List," and it creates avenues for legal action.
The aim of the MATCH Act is to tighten controls on the sale of key chipmaking equipment by ensuring critical technologies from dominant supplier countries - including the United States, Japan and the Netherlands - do not facilitate advanced semiconductor production in China. The draft legislation sets out mechanisms that could pressure allied countries to restrict equipment exports, and it contemplates follow-on U.S. controls if foreign governments do not adopt similar limits within several months after the measures go into effect. The bill would also require licenses to service equipment supplied to Chinese firms.
Industry participants most closely associated with high-end lithography and fabrication equipment are widely seen as potential targets of such measures. Netherlands-based ASML, the market leader in deep ultraviolet immersion lithography systems, is viewed as especially exposed to new restrictions that could affect its China business, and Japanese supplier Tokyo Electron is also mentioned among companies that could be affected. An ASML spokeswoman declined to comment, and Tokyo Electron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The MATCH Act progressed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee with a 36 to 8 vote after the draft went through repeated revisions amid lobbying. Micron, the largest U.S. memory chipmaker, has been reported as a major proponent of the bill.
As the legislation advances in Congress and diplomats prepare for sensitive talks in Beijing, the issue highlights the intersection of trade policy, national security concerns, and the global semiconductor supply chain. Officials on both sides are using diplomatic channels to make their positions known, and Beijing has articulated explicit countermeasures it could invoke should the U.S. measures be enacted into law.
What to watch next: Whether the MATCH Act is formally raised during the leaders' meeting in Beijing, how foreign supplier countries respond to U.S. pressure to limit equipment exports, and what specific countermeasures China might activate if the legislation is enacted.