Trump blocks China-backed bid to buy US chip maker

The White House said on Wednesday that it prevented the acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor, in part because the United States government relies on the company's products

President Trump on Wednesday blocked a China-backed investor from buying an American semiconductor maker over national security concerns, a rare move that could signal more aggressive scrutiny of China’s deal-making ambitions.

The deal for Lattice Semiconductor has provided a test of the president’s economic and diplomatic relationship with China.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump reserved some of his harshest words for China, accusing the country of stealing jobs. In recent months, the president has turned more critical of Beijing, accusing it of failing to do more to restrain the nuclear ambitions of North Korea.

Derek M. Scissors, a resident scholar at the