The renewed tension between the United States and China fueled by the coronavirus pandemic is not limited to verbal contests. While the trade war between the two largest economic powers in the world seemed to be overshadowed by the health crisis, the Trump administration has just adopted a series of measures aimed at limiting U.S. exports of technological products to China.
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The new rules are expected to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, according to Reuters. They provide that certain spare parts for aircraft and integrated circuits, which until now could be exported to Chinese military organizations without a license as long as they were intended for civilian use, will now be subject to a license. That is to say a stricter green light from the Administration. For example, the People's Liberation Army imports some of the products affected by these new restrictions for hospitals. American companies Intel and Xilinx are manufacturing some of the integrated circuits that could become much more difficult to sell in China.
One of the measures to be published should also prohibit companies from third countries from selling these products to Chinese companies without explicit authorization from the United States government.
Degradation of relationships
These provisions, seemingly limited in scope, bear witness to the recent deterioration in relations between Washington and Beijing. The fact that Donald Trump persists in calling Covid-19 the "Chinese virus" has been a big part of straining bilateral reports.
Reuters had revealed on April 2 that the US administration was preparing to take these measures to limit the diversion of technologies "made in the USA" for military purposes. Washington is trying to counter the doctrine claimed for several years by Xi Jinping of a "merger" between the civilian and the military to hoist the Middle Kingdom to technological supremacy.