Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

Asked to comment on the Taiwan regional authorities' announcement to impose export controls on 47 products to SouthAfrica on the grounds of so-called "national security" — a decision to take effect 60 days after public notice, which came after South Africa's downgrading and relocation of the relevant Taiwan representative office out of the administrative capital Pretoria — Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the island's authorities are engaging in blatant political manipulation. "They are deliberately disrupting and undermining the stability of global chip supply chains in an attempt to weaponize semiconductors to resist the international community's consensus on the one-China principle, which is doomed to fail," Guo said.

In recent years, China's chip industry has made rapid strides, with mature-process chip production capacity accounting for about 28 percent of the global total, while breakthroughs continue to be made in advanced manufacturing, Guo said. According to South African customs statistics, in 2024, the Chinese mainland's chip exports to South Africa were three times those of the Taiwan region. "The island's authorities' move will not have any substantive impact on South Africa's industries and will backfire," said Guo, adding that China appreciates the South African government's firm push to advance the relocation of the Taiwan representative office, and stands ready to expand cooperation with South Africa across a wide range of areas, including semiconductors, to further deepen all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era between the two countries.

Global Times