US chipmaker Qualcomm must make further concessions over market competition to win Beijing’s approval for its proposed $44bn purchase of Dutch company NXP Semiconductors, China's commerce ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said Qualcomm had resubmitted its application to Chinese authorities on Monday, amid fears that Beijing may use its crucial approval of the deal as a bargaining chip in trade disputes with Washington.
“This deal has a wide influence, and may have a negative impact on market competition,” ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters. Mr Gao added that Qualcomm had submitted a remedy plan to resolve such problems but that “an initial investigation shows Qualcomm’s plan cannot easily solve the problems relating to market competition”.