What the United States administration frames as protecting "national security" is, in practice, a systematic campaign to suppress Chinese high-tech enterprises and restrict their access to US markets and technologies.

The latest installment: the Federal Communications Commission is reportedly drafting a ban on imports of new Chinese optical transceivers — devices that convert electrical data into light and back within data centers. US officials hope to publish the rule this year, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday. To justify its protectionist agenda, Washington has again sought to paint Chinese enterprises as "national security threats" without providing any substantial evidence.

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Beijing's calibrated response to the series of ill-advised China-targeted measures by the US came on Wednesday. China's Ministry of Commerce announced enhanced export controls on drones and related dual-use items to the US. The ministry also took countermeasures against six US entities, including Applied DNA Sciences, for aiding and abetting illegal US sanctions on Chinese enterprises citing so-called "forced labor" in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Compliance Testing LLC was also added to the entity list for supporting FCC restrictive measures that violate Chinese businesses' legitimate rights and threaten China's sovereignty, security and development interests.

Separately, the ministry commenced an investigation into imported printing and copying equipment equipped with foreign system software to assess potential effects on China's national security and foreign trade.

The ill-advised measures against China imposed by the US in recent weeks constitute a serious violation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and a material infringement upon China's legitimate rights and interests. China is therefore left with no alternative but to adopt the necessary countermeasures, the ministry said in a statement.

As the ministry said, Beijing's response remains proportionate and measured, indicating that China values the hard-won stability of its economic ties with the US.

The US side is urged to revoke its relevant measures and return to resolving differences through consultations.

The Chinese embassy in the US has also urged the US government to "heed the objective and rational voices of the business communities in both countries" and "stop smearing Chinese companies and threatening them with sanctions".

The broader context is telling. The planned transceiver ban follows recent US restrictions on imports of drones, humanoid robots and power inverters, all specifically targeting Chinese high-tech products. Washington is also weighing controls on Chinese open-source AI models.

Such crackdowns will serve to force related Chinese companies to make strategic adjustments. The external pressure also reflects a deeper reality: the US is clinging to technological hegemony, abusing export controls and recklessly pushing "decoupling" and "supply chain disruption". The chain of suppression, from chip equipment to computing hardware, is likely to expand.

If Washington insists on new restrictions, China will pursue further countermeasures, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce rightly warned.

While key technologies can be restricted and supply chains disrupted, the drive of Chinese enterprises for industrial advancement will not be halted. Alibaba launched its latest and "most powerful" AI model, Qwen3.8-Max, on Monday — boasting 2.4 trillion parameters and ranking second only to Anthropic's Claude series in Arena rankings. This achievement underscores that Chinese companies, making the most of what they have, continue to improve their competitiveness in high-tech sectors.

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Moreover, the global semiconductor supply chains are interconnected. Forcibly severing them also raises costs for US companies. This lose-lose dynamic contradicts the fundamental truth that technological progress thrives on competition and collaboration. By politicizing technology and weaponizing "national security", Washington will ultimately curb global scientific advancement — and, in the long run, its own competitiveness.

The US should refrain from stirring up trouble while both sides are preparing for high-level exchanges. This year is meant to be a "big year" for China-US engagement, not a "big year" for Washington to intensify its crackdown on Beijing.