"Ernie Bot is not a tool of confrontation between China and the United States," said Baidu CEO Robin Li.

The development follows the Dutch government’s announcement that it would restrict exports of critical chipmaking technology to protect national security

The Netherlands considers it necessary on national security grounds to get this technology into oversight with the greatest of speed, the Dutch trade minister said

Fintech firm Riskified is moving $500 million out of the country after news that business leaders shifted $4 billion abroad amid worry over the Netanyahu regime's contentious judicial reforms

Anger simmers over threats of more sanctions, with Foreign Minister Qin Gang warning that suppressing China will end in "conflict or confrontation" if the US does not change tack

Asked about new US bill to ban some foreign tech such as TikTok, China's spokeswoman said the US was trying to deprive it of developmental rights and perpetuate its own hegemony

Even with huge sums of money, unless Chinese firms can develop their own chip innovations, they may be trapped at the low end of the value chain, industry players say

A US Treasury report said a programme to block US investment going to advanced tech sectors in countries deemed to be a potential security threat would cost $10 million, if set up this year

The world's largest contract chipmaker is diversifying and has new plants planned in the US, Japan, and possibly in Germany.

New US rules are expected to cover private-equity and venture-capital investments in advanced semiconductors, supercomputing and some forms of artificial intelligence

Expanding tech curbs on the Chinese tech giant could have a major economic impact on Nvidia, a draft US government notice has said

The move signifies Beijing's changing priorities as it looks to strengthen is capabilities while Washington cuts off access to cutting edge technology