Consumer tech including smart watches and Bluetooth speakers have managed to avoid these tariffs, but it has been reported that home modems, Internet gateways and routers haven’t escaped the charges.
China has, according to Xinhau news agency, accused the US for employing “trade bullyism practices”.
In response to US actions, Beijing has announced a tariff on the US worth $60bn.
In related news, Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company, has launched a semiconductor company, called Pingtouge, in an effort to develop its own AI chip - AliNPU. This news comes after Jack Ma, the company’s soon to be retired CEO, was reported saying that China needs to control core technology – including chips – to avoid over relying on US imports.
AliNPU will be designed to support Cloud technology and IoT devices such as autonomous driving, smart cities and smart logistics.
The company will also be looking to develop quantum processors.
