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US-China trade war
EconomyGlobal Economy

As rising US-China tensions target tech, was the Geneva deal just a flash in the pan?

Trump’s latest export controls seen as ‘clear escalation’ since Switzerland talks, while Beijing clings to its dominance over critical minerals

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Analysts say the trade clash between the US and China is expanding into more difficult areas of their economic relationship. Image: Shutterstock
Ji Siqiin Beijing

Economic tensions between the US and China are rising under the weight of tariffs and spreading into areas where it is harder to reach a consensus – namely, advanced technology – analysts say in the wake of Washington’s reported moves to pause exports of products and technologies related to semiconductor design and jet-engine manufacturing to China.

The US Department of Commerce has told American electronic design automation firms – including Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA – to stop supplying their technology to China, according to a Financial Times report, citing people familiar with the matter.

Cadence and Synopsys confirmed on Thursday that they had received letters from the department informing them of the new export restrictions related to China.

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Meanwhile, Washington has suspended some licences that allowed American companies to sell products and technology to China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer, Comac, that could be used to develop the home-grown C919 aircraft, The New York Times reported, also citing anonymous sources. The move was made in response to China’s export controls on critical minerals, it said.
“For US-China relations, this poses a threat in terms of undermining the Geneva ceasefire,” said Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia and lead analyst for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit, referring to high-stakes bilateral talks that were held earlier this month in Switzerland and resulted in a temporary pause in their tit-for-tat tariff war.
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“We are increasingly seeing US-China frictions migrate away from tariffs and into more difficult areas of the economic relationship,” Marro said.

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