China on Saturday opened two formal trade probes aimed at the U.S. semiconductor industry just days before scheduled talks in Madrid between senior officials from the two countries.
The Ministry of Commerce announced an anti-dumping investigation into certain analog integrated circuits imported from the United States and a separate anti-discrimination probe into U.S. measures targeting China’s chip sector. The anti-dumping inquiry focuses on commodity interface IC chips and gate driver IC chips, components commonly produced by U.S. firms including Texas Instruments and ON Semiconductor.
China’s commerce ministry said U.S. steps such as export curbs and tariffs "constitute the containment and suppression of China’s development of high‑tech industries" including advanced computer chips and artificial intelligence, according to a ministry spokesperson. The announcements came after the United States last week added 23 Chinese companies to an export-restricted "entity list," including two firms accused of acquiring chipmaking equipment for Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC).
The probes were announced ahead of meetings in Madrid between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, which China’s vice premier’s office said are scheduled to take place between Sunday and Wednesday. The Madrid talks are planned to address trade, national security and the ownership of social media platform TikTok, among other issues.
U.S. and Chinese officials have held several recent rounds of talks intended to reduce bilateral tensions, including meetings in Geneva in May, London in June and Stockholm in July. The two governments have repeatedly agreed to 90‑day pauses on escalating reciprocal tariffs to avert a broader trade war. After the Stockholm round, Bessent described the discussions as "very fulsome" and said negotiators had discussed how to "de‑risk" strategic industries such as rare earths, semiconductors and medicines to achieve balance in the relationship.
U.S. administrations under both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductors, including limits on the sale of certain chipmaking equipment. Washington has cited national security concerns for those measures, while Beijing has called them efforts to contain China’s technological development.
The two new Chinese probes target product categories that are widely used across consumer electronics, automotive systems and industrial equipment. Analysts and industry officials say such inquiries can affect supply chains and commercial relationships even if they do not immediately result in tariffs or other penalties, because they raise uncertainty about future trade conditions.
Chinese trade remedies investigations are conducted under domestic law and World Trade Organization rules and typically involve evidence-gathering phases that can take months. The ministry did not provide a timetable for either probe.
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed their immediate response to the investigations. In past negotiations, both sides have used inquiries, export controls and entity listings as leverage in broader talks while simultaneously engaging in diplomacy to contain fallout.
The Madrid meetings come at a delicate moment in U.S.-China relations, as both sides balance economic interdependence with strategic competition. Officials from both governments have said they prefer to manage rivalry through talks that reduce the risk of accidental escalation, even as they take steps intended to protect perceived national security interests.