Commerce Sec’y: ‘We Want China’s Economy to Flourish’

During an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that “We want China’s economy to flourish.” But they can’t have “our most sophisticated, leading-edge AI chips or the equipment that makes those chips.”

CNBC Washington Correspondent Megan Cassella asked, “[T]here’s been some reporting recently that the U.S. is looking at further export restrictions to limit the amount of China’s access to our chips and sophisticated technologies. Can you give us any information on sort of what’s under consideration and what to expect?”

Raimondo answered, “I don’t have anything specific to announce or specific that we might be working on. It’s more of a — it’s a dynamic process, right? When we learn information about what China might be doing, other countries diverting chips to China, then we take action. Here’s what I will say: We want China’s economy to flourish. We want them to — we sell billions of dollars of semiconductor chips to China. That will continue. They cannot have our most sophisticated, leading-edge AI chips or the equipment that makes those chips. And so, as we’re learning more about AI and China’s capacity, we’re constantly updating, constantly updating our regulations to make sure that we keep America safe.”

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