The Federal Communications Commission has become a central vehicle for some of the Trump administration’s toughest actions on China, using telecom and equipment rules to squeeze Chinese technology out of U.S. supply chains while avoiding more overt diplomatic escalation. Under Chair Brendan Carr, the agency has over the past nine months barred imports of new models of Chinese drones, routers, inverters and robots, started the process of blocking Chinese labs from testing electronics for the U.S. market, and is drafting a ban on imports of new Chinese data center components tied to infrastructure supporting the AI boom. China has now begun to retaliate, announcing on Wednesday tighter export controls on U.S.-bound drones and technology and sanctions on a U.S. testing and certification firm, while criticizing the FCC’s steps as discriminatory and disruptive to global supply chains. U.S. officials said the measures have White House backing and are framed as global rules designed to support national security and American re-industrialization, even as analysts expect the pressure campaign to continue despite a planned September meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.