BEIJING — China’s top legislature on Saturday passed a law on export control, allowing the government to ban exports of strategic materials and advanced technology to specific foreign companies on its equivalent of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
“China may take countermeasures against any country or region that abuses export-control measures and poses a threat to China’s national security and interests, according to the law,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The inclusion of the phrase “and interests” suggests that the law will give the government more leeway to move against those it wants to punish.
The passage marks another step in the tit-for-tat escalation between China and the U.S., which has been strengthening sanctions on Huawei Technologies. The new Chinese law goes into effect on Dec. 1, after the U.S. elections.
Concerns have been raised that rare-earth metals, for which China’s market share exceeds 60%, may be included in the restricted items. Such a ban would have broad implications worldwide.
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