STORY: The U.S. launched yet another crackdown on China's semiconductor industry on Monday (Dec 2).
Its the third such move in three years, and curbs exports to 140 companies.
Those targeted include chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group, as well as other Chinese market leaders.
The export restrictions also take aim at shipments of advanced memory chips and more chipmaking tools to China.
The move is one of the Biden administration's last large-scale efforts to weaken China's ability to access and produce chips.
It comes just weeks before the swearing-in of Republican President-elect Donald Trump.
He is expected to retain many of Biden's tough-on-China measures.
Washington believes Beijing could use chips to advance AI for military applications, and threaten U.S. national security.
The latest package includes curbs on China-bound shipments of high bandwidth memory chips, which are critical for high-end applications like AI training.
Chinese companies facing new restrictions include nearly two dozen semiconductor companies.
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Two investment companies and over 100 chipmaking tool makers also face being hit.
Some of the impacted firms work with China's Huawei Technologies.
The tech giant has faced U.S. sanctions for years, and is now at the center of China's advanced chip production and development.
Beijing argued the U.S. move undermined the international economic trade order and disrupted global supply chains.
It further said China will take measures to safeguard the rights and interests of its firms.
On Tuesday, Beijing responded with export restrictions of its own.
It said it would ban the export of "dual-use items" related to gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials to the U.S. with immediate effect
China has stepped up its drive to become self-sufficient in the semiconductor sector in recent years.
But it is still well behind chip industry leaders like Nvidia in AI chips and chip equipment maker ASML in the Netherlands.