US closely watching exports of chips that could boost China's military

The United States is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. The U.S. export controls were first launched in 2022 to counter the use of chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. Last year, the U.S. Commerce Department broadened the export controls, sparking protests from China's Commerce Ministry that the restrictions violated international trade rules and seriously threaten the stability of industrial supply chains." China said it would take all necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests and urged Washington to lift the export control as soon as possible. Asked if the U.S. was planning to further broaden the chip export controls to China, Raimondo said in a news conference in the Philippine capital Manila that