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China imposed the curb on imports of dichlorosilane from Japan,
saying its exports of the material, also known as DCS, have
violated anti-dumping regulations and harmed China’s domestic
industry.
Beginning Tuesday, companies importing the chemical compound
from Japan must provide cash deposits to China’s customs at
rates of up to 99.2%. The measure applies to Shin-Etsu Chemical
and Denal Silane, among other Japanese exporters of DCS.
Beijing says the measure is provisional as an investigation
continues. A final ruling will come later.
Relations between China and Japan have been strained since
November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered
Beijing by suggesting Japan's military could intervene if China
used military force on Taiwan, a self-ruled island Beijing
claims as its territory.
In Tokyo, Japan’s top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet
Secretary Minoru Kihara, protested against the controls and said
Tokyo would “respond appropriately” to avoid unfair harm to
Japanese companies.
China’s commerce ministry launched its anti-dumping probe into
Japanese DCS as part of various measures against Japan. Beijing
has also imposed export controls on Japanese firms for dual-use
items that can be used for military purposes.
DCS is used in a chemical vapor process to put thin layers of
silicon, oxide, or other films in semiconductor logic and memory
chips. The global market for DCS is highly competitive, but
Japan is the leading producer of ultrapure DCS for computer chip
fabrication.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
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