European tech executives and diplomats are accusing the US of using its sanctions regime to shut them out of the Chinese market while offering exemptions for American companies.
Over the past two years, the US has imposed aggressive sanctions on Chinese companies such as Huawei and, as of Friday, the chipmaker SMIC, which have prevented them from buying most US-made technologies.
But one senior European executive said the sanctions had created an “America First” trade policy, involving exemptions for US companies while groups from other countries are cut out of the Chinese market. “So far, US companies have been given licences to supply Huawei, while European suppliers cannot,” said the executive, who asked not to be named.