China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Friday that it is launching an investigation into Qualcomm’s (QCOM) June acquisition of Autotalks, pulling the chip company into a growing number of firms ensnared in the ongoing economic tit-for-tat between the US and China.
In a statement, SAMR said Qualcomm’s acquisition is suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly laws, though it didn’t provide any further details on what element of the deal broke monopoly laws or how.
In a statement, a Qualcomm spokesperson said, “We are fully cooperating with SAMR in this matter. Qualcomm is committed to supporting the development and growth of our customers and partners.” Qualcomm stock was down more than 4% in midday trade.
The announcement comes the same day President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the Chinese government is seeking to tighten its control over rare earth minerals. Trump went on to threaten a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump also said there’s no longer any reason for him to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders initially planned at the APEC Summit in South Korea.
Like Qualcomm, SAMR has also accused AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) of violating China’s anti-monopoly laws. In September, the regulator announced that it would conduct further investigations into the deal. Nvidia has denied any wrongdoing.
China has also called on companies to avoid using Nvidia’s products, and in 2024, a state agency called for an investigation into Intel’s chips for what China’s Cyberspace Security Association claimed were “frequent vulnerabilities and high failure rates.”
The US and China are locked in a months-long trade fight that has seen the countries raise tariffs on shipments of their respective goods by more than 120% before lowering them again.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Technology and rare earth minerals are just two of the biggest pawns in the back-and-forth struggle between the two nations. Tech companies have had to maneuver their relationships with the countries, placating them to ensure they can continue to sell their products into both markets.
In the US, companies like Apple (APPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and TSMC (TSM) have committed to building new facilities or otherwise sourcing components from American factories in an effort to win Trump’s approval and avoid potentially onerous tariffs.
Qualcomm relies on TSMC to build its chips, some of which come from the company’s manufacturing plants in Arizona.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Friday that it is launching an investigation into Qualcomm’s (QCOM) June acquisition of Autotalks, pulling the chip company into a growing number of firms ensnared in the ongoing economic tit-for-tat between the US and China.
In a statement, SAMR said Qualcomm’s acquisition is suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly laws, though it didn’t provide any further details on what element of the deal broke monopoly laws or how.
In a statement, a Qualcomm spokesperson said, “We are fully cooperating with SAMR in this matter. Qualcomm is committed to supporting the development and growth of our customers and partners.” Qualcomm stock was down more than 4% in midday trade.
The announcement comes the same day President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that the Chinese government is seeking to tighten its control over rare earth minerals. Trump went on to threaten a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese goods.
Trump also said there’s no longer any reason for him to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two leaders initially planned at the APEC Summit in South Korea.
Like Qualcomm, SAMR has also accused AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) of violating China’s anti-monopoly laws. In September, the regulator announced that it would conduct further investigations into the deal. Nvidia has denied any wrongdoing.
China has also called on companies to avoid using Nvidia’s products, and in 2024, a state agency called for an investigation into Intel’s chips for what China’s Cyberspace Security Association claimed were “frequent vulnerabilities and high failure rates.”
The US and China are locked in a months-long trade fight that has seen the countries raise tariffs on shipments of their respective goods by more than 120% before lowering them again.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Technology and rare earth minerals are just two of the biggest pawns in the back-and-forth struggle between the two nations. Tech companies have had to maneuver their relationships with the countries, placating them to ensure they can continue to sell their products into both markets.
In the US, companies like Apple (APPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and TSMC (TSM) have committed to building new facilities or otherwise sourcing components from American factories in an effort to win Trump’s approval and avoid potentially onerous tariffs.
Qualcomm relies on TSMC to build its chips, some of which come from the company’s manufacturing plants in Arizona.
