China launched two investigations targeting the US semiconductor sector ahead of planned talks between the two nations on trade and other issues.

The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Saturday that it’s opened an anti-dumping probe relating to certain American-made analog IC chips, the sort of products sold by Texas Instruments Inc. and Analog Devices Inc. At the same time, the ministry also kicked off an anti-discrimination investigation into US moves against the Chinese chip sector, according to a separate statement .

The probes comes shortly after the US added 23 more China-based companies to its entity list, which imposes restrictions on businesses deemed to be “acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US.”

China’s public rebuk

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