Washington’s latest moves target semiconductor access and small Chinese oil refineries, though analysts expect Beijing to remain resilient
2-MIN READ2-MINRalph JenningsPublished: 11:00pm, 29 Apr 2026The United States is stepping up pressure on China across multiple strategic fronts, in moves analysts say could strengthen US President Donald Trump’s hand ahead of his planned high-stakes mid-May meeting with President Xi Jinping.But they cautioned that Beijing was likely to remain unfazed because it had already adapted to earlier curbs by reducing its reliance on the American market.
The restrictions – which will next be debated by the rest of the Republican-controlled House – would also require US allies such as the Netherlands and Japan to more closely align with Washington’s curbs on the sale of advanced semiconductor equipment to China.
“It seems that they do worry about China’s progress in chipmaking and its recent spending spree on chipmaking machinery like lithography tools,” said Liang Yan, a professor of economics at Willamette University in the US.
