China’s Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao, held a meeting with Micron Technology Inc.’s President and CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, on November 1st. During the meeting, Wang stated that China would welcome the U.S. semiconductor company to deepen its footprint in the Chinese market. This is a positive sign towards the easing of tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Wang also mentioned that China would optimize its environment for foreign investment and provide service guarantees for foreign enterprises. He added that Micron Technology could continue to take root in the Chinese market and achieve better development, provided they comply with Chinese laws and regulations.
This is a significant development since China’s cyberspace regulator had earlier barred Chinese operators from buying from Micron Technology, citing a network security review failure. The move was widely seen as retaliation for the United States’ efforts to restrict Beijing’s access to key technology.
However, the recent meeting between Wang and Mehrotra is in line with the recent thawing in tensions between Washington and Beijing. Officials from both nations are working towards organizing a meeting between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco later this month.