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Kawala Xie

In the second high-level exchange between China and the United States in a week, the two countries have agreed to keep channels of communication open.
Amid persistent tensions over trade disputes and technology restrictions, Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and his US counterpart Christopher Landau spoke by phone on Thursday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Friday morning.
“They exchanged views on China-US relations and important issues of common concern. Both sides agreed to continue to maintain communication,” the ministry said.


The US State Department said the two officials discussed “a wide range of issues of mutual interest”.
“They acknowledged the importance of the bilateral relationship to the people of both countries and the world … and agreed on the importance of keeping open lines of communication,” it said.
The phone call came two days after Ma met newly arrived US envoy to China David Perdue in Beijing for “candid and in-depth” exchanges on bilateral issues.
The US and China are continuing to clash on multiple fronts, with Beijing hardest hit by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on trade partners on April 2.
An agreement this month temporarily eased these tariffs to pave the way for future trade talks.
However, there was another step backward last week when the US Department of Commerce warned that using advanced Huawei chips “risks violating US export controls and may subject companies to Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement action”.
The warning was seen as an attempt to further restrict China’s hi-tech development, which the US views as a threat to national security.
Beijing protested against the move, criticising Washington for undermining trade talks. In a meeting with visiting Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Thursday, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, appeared to lash out at the US by taking aim at the “unilateralism, protectionism, and power bullying” that he said had seriously disrupted the international trade system.
Wang and Veldkamp agreed to maintain close communication on semiconductors in a six-point consensus reached in Beijing, according to a Chinese statement.
The Netherlands is home to ASML, the world’s leading producer of lithography machines, which are crucial for chipmaking. The US has put immense pressure on its ally in recent years to restrict exports of chipmaking equipment to Beijing.


After his meeting with Wang, Veldkamp said China had asked the Netherlands to ease export restrictions on Beijing. But he added that “national security concerns and autonomous licensing decision-making remain in the Netherlands’ interest”, according to Bloomberg.
Asked whether Beijing raised the request with Veldkamp, the Chinese foreign ministry said China and the Netherlands had a high level of “complementarity” in semiconductors.
“China is willing to work with the international community, including the Netherlands, to adhere to open cooperation and jointly maintain the stability of the global semiconductor production and supply chain,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Working with allies to restrict China’s access to critical semiconductor technologies was central to former US president Joe Biden’s strategy. In the last month of his administration, the US implemented an “AI diffusion rule”, a three-tier export control system to limit US chip exports to various countries. China falls into Tier 3, the most restricted country, along with Russia, North Korea and Iran.
Along with its warning on Huawei chips, the Trump administration announced last week it would rescind the Biden-era rule. Instead, it plans to work with partners in the Middle East, a battleground in US-China tech rivalry, to boost exports of US-made AI chips.


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Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and US counterpart Christopher Landau talk by phone on Thursday, Beijing says


Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and US counterpart Christopher Landau talk by phone on Thursday, Beijing says.


Tech tensions persist but China and US make high-level call to keep talking

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and US counterpart Christopher Landau talk by phone on Thursday, Beijing says

Chinese vice-foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu and US counterpart Christopher Landau talk by phone on Thursday, Beijing says