With China being a much larger consumer than the U.S.[0], it is a logical decision to warn those first who would have a larger loss than others. Ultimately, by preventing China from gaining vulnerabilities, we in turn will help the U.S. in a greater sense by hopefully achieving a >95% protection rate on chips.

"In 2012, China consumed 33% of the world’s integrated circuits (i.e. microchips) while the US consumed only 13.5%"

[0]https://qz.com/72542/china-just-surpassed-the-us-in-semicond...