Australian coal arrives at China’s doorstep, while Britain defends a potential meeting with the governor of Xinjiang

Here’s what else you need to know about China today:

Top story: Biden is bearing down on China’s access to critical technologies with proposed restrictions on investments made by American companies. The new rules will likely target quantum computing, cutting-edge chips, and certain artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, but will they backfire? Scroll down for a summary or click through for the whole thing.

Britain defended possible talks with the governor of Xinjiang, Erkin Tuniyaz, denying that a meeting “will not legitimize” Beijing’s “abhorrent” human rights abuses against the Uyghur population. “However, robust engagement to challenge human rights violations and stand up for the rights of the oppressed is at the core of the U.K.’s diplomatic work around the world… Hence officials would be prepared to offer him a meeting,” Junior foreign office minister Leo Docherty said.

• See also this week’s Uyghur Bulletin: U.K. court throws out Uyghur forced labor lawsuit

Australian coal is back in China and is waiting to be cleared by customs, marking the latest thaw in Canberra’s bitter, yearslong trade dispute with Beijing. The shipments of coal, one of Australia’s most lucrative exports, comes just two days after the country’s prime minister hinted at stronger economic ties with its largest trading partner.

Xiaomi, ByteDance, and JD.com are all on the AI chatbot bandwagon: Following Baidu’s announcement of its Ernie Bot, a senior executive at JD.com stated earlier today that the company is developing a ChatGPT-like product for the B2B space. A journalist cited “sources close to Xiaomi” today that claim the smartphone company is also developing an AI chatbot, while TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly developing an AI chatbot at its AI lab for use by the company’s virtual reality subsidiary, PICO.