“The US measures are typical unilateral bullying and protectionism, which seriously undermine the stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and supply chain,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement.

Washington last week unveiled fresh guidelines warning firms that using Chinese-made high-tech AI semiconductors, most notably tech giant Huawei’s Ascend chips, would put them at risk of violating US export controls.

The commerce department said its policy was aimed at sharing American AI technology “with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries”.

Beijing condemned the move, accusing the US of “abusing export controls to suppress and contain China”.

“These actions seriously harm the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and endanger China’s development interests,” the commerce ministry said.

It also warned that “any organisation or individual that enforces or assists in enforcing such measures” could be in violation of Chinese law.