China has pledged to take firm actions to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its businesses following the United States' new chip export restrictions targeting the country, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce late Monday.

China has noticed that the latest US measures impose tighter controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, storage chips and related items. They have also added an additional 136 Chinese entities into the export control entity list and extended long-arm jurisdiction, disrupting trade between China and third-party countries, said a ministry spokesperson in an online statement.

These actions represent a clear example of economic coercion and anti-market practices, said the commerce official, after the US Department of Commerce announced its updated semiconductor export controls on Monday.

The spokesperson said that China firmly opposes these actions adding that the US acts inconsistently with its statements, overextending the concept of national security, misusing export controls and engaging in unilateral bullying tactics.

The semiconductor industry operates within a highly globalized framework, and the US's misuse of control measures severely disrupts normal international economic and trade exchanges, the spokesperson added.

These actions severely violate market principles, undermine the international economic and trade order and pose a serious threat to the stability of global industrial and supply chains, according to the Ministry of Commerce.