The United States is ordering Taiwan to halt shipments of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence applications to the Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that this is a serious disruption of and blatant interference with free trade rules.

The US Department of Commerce sent a letter to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips, of 7 nanometer or more advanced designs, destined for the Chinese mainland that power AI accelerator and graphics processing units, starting Monday.

For some time now, the US has been increasingly abusing export control measures, implementing long-arm jurisdiction, and continuing to intensify its suppression of China's semiconductor industry, said He Yongqian, spokeswoman for the ministry, at a news conference.

The semiconductor industry is a prime example of the benefits of global supply chain collaboration. By unilaterally placing these export restrictions, the US will impede global technology exchange and economic and trade cooperation, ultimately harming the interests of all parties, He said.

wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn