China's Minister Of Trade Welcomes Micron Technology's Presence In China Market

Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Micron Technology, (photo: twitter @MicronCEO)

JAKARTA - On November 1, China's Minister of Trade, Wang Wentao, stated that Beijing welcomes the efforts of the semiconductor company from the United States, Micron Technology Inc., to expand its presence in the Chinese market. This signifies a further improvement in relations between the two largest economies in the world.

During the meeting, Wang Wentao told Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Micron Technology, that China would optimize foreign investment environments and provide service guarantees for foreign companies, in accordance with a brief statement published on Friday on the website of the Ministry of Trade.

"We welcome Micron Technology to continue to take root in the Chinese market and achieve better developments by complying with Chinese laws and regulations," Wang added.

The opening comes just months after China's cyber regulator stated that Micron failed a network security review and banned key operators of Chinese infrastructure from buying products from the United States' largest memory chip manufacturer.

China's move against Micron is widely seen as an act of retaliation against Washington's efforts to limit Beijing's access to key technology. The move comes just a day after the Group of Seven (G7) rich countries agreed to "reduce risks, not cut ties" with China, while Washington urged its allies to join forces in limiting chip equipment exports to China.

The meeting between Wang and Mehrotra last Wednesday was in accordance with recent tensions between Washington and Beijing, when officials from both countries worked to arrange a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his compatriot, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is scheduled to take place at a Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) meeting in San Francisco later this month.