Beijing has strongly criticized recent moves by US lawmakers to restrict Chinese access to advanced semiconductor chips and chipmaking equipment, cautioning that such measures could cause “arbitrary disruption and damage” to global supply chains.

This response follows reports on Tuesday, July 16th, 2026, that three bipartisan export control bills targeting China—the AI Overwatch Act, the Match Act, and the Chip Security Act—are set to be incorporated into the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) in the US Senate. The NDAA is the annual defense policy bill passed by the US Congress, and this integration marks a significant escalation in US-China technology competition.

Liu Chang, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, stated that although the NDAA is a US domestic bill, Beijing “firmly reject[s] inserting negative content about China into the draft legislation.” He emphasized that “the global industrial and supply chains come into shape as a result of both the law of the market and the choices of businesses,” warning that arbitrary disruption to these chains “serves no one’s interest and to do so will receive no support.”

Liu further urged the US to cease politicizing and weaponizing economic, trade, and science-technology issues, to stop blocking Chinese companies, and to respect market economy laws and free trade rules to maintain the security and stability of global supply chains.

The three bills, introduced over the past year in both the House and Senate, represent efforts by the US legislative branch to tighten technology restrictions on China. This comes at a time when the previous Trump administration had loosened some restrictions, such as permitting sales of Nvidia H200 chips to China.

Sources