WASHINGTON, July 17 Reuters U.S. chip company executives met with top Biden administration officials on Monday to discuss China policy, the State Department and sources said, as the most powerful semiconductor lobby group urged a halt to more curbs under consideration.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with chip company chief executives about the industry and supply chains after his recent trip to China, a department spokesperson told reporters.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Economic Council director Lael Brainard and National Security Council director Jake Sullivan were among other government officials meeting with Intel, Qualcomm and Nvidia, a source familiar with the meetings told Reuters.

The chip industry is keen to protect its profits in China as the Biden administration considers another round of restrictions on chip exports to China. Last year, China accounted for 180 billion in semiconductor purchases, more than a third the worldwide total of 555.9 billion and the largest single market, according to Semiconductor Industry Association SIA.

Blinken sought to share his perspective on the industry and on supply chain issues, especially after his recent visit to China and to hear directly from those companies about how they see supply chain issues, about how they see doing business in China, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing.

Discussions with government officials also included speeding up disbursement of…