China opposes US abuse of national security to target Chinese firms

China firmly opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security to go after Chinese companies, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the US told China Daily on Tuesday, referring to a Reuters report that the US administration is drafting a ban on imports of new models of Chinese data center components.

"Protectionism does not make the US more competitive and will only hurt the interests of US companies and consumers," the embassy said.

The proposed ban is aimed at protecting the infrastructure that undergirds the AI boom, according to the Reuters report, which cited four people said to be familiar with the matter.

China will continue to do what is necessary to firmly defend the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, the embassy spokesperson said.

The Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the US ‌telecom industry, is working on a measure to bar imports of new Chinese optical transceivers, saying that they "allow data to travel through fiber-optic cables at the speed of light within data centers." Officials hope to publish it this year, when it would take effect, according to a Reuters report.

The move, not previously reported, is intended to prevent Chinese firms from "stealing data, installing malware or disrupting service at US data centers", which house the chips used to train and run AI models.

Sources cautioned that the FCC could still modify or shelve the restriction, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

But it is the latest example of the current US administration's effort to limit Chinese technological inroads into cutting-edge US industries before they become embedded in the supply chain.

The FCC has imposed similar curbs on Chinese drones, routers, robots and inverters. In line with those restrictions, the agency is expected to ban all imports of new transceiver models and then exempt many non-Chinese suppliers from the restrictions, three of the Reuters sources added.