US contemplates sanctioning Huawei’s covert Chinese chip network
The Biden administration is considering blacklisting Chinese semiconductor companies connected to Huawei Technologies, intensifying efforts to constrain Beijing's AI and semiconductor ambitions
The Biden administration is mulling over the prospect of blacklisting several Chinese semiconductor firms associated with Huawei Technologies Co. following the telecom giant's significant technological breakthrough last year.
The consideration of such action underscores a deepening involvement in the ongoing struggle to contain Beijing's ambitions in artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors.
It would heighten the pressure on Huawei, a Chinese national champion, which has demonstrated technological advances despite existing sanctions. Last year, the company accomplished the production of a smartphone processor that many in Washington had deemed beyond its capabilities.
Most of the Chinese entities potentially affected were previously pinpointed as chipmaking facilities either acquired by or under construction by Huawei. This revelation emerged from a presentation by the Semiconductor Industry Association, a Washington-based trade group.
However, final decisions regarding the matter are yet to be made.
Among the companies possibly facing blacklisting are chipmakers Qingdao Si’En, SwaySure, and Shenzhen Pensun Technology Co. (PST).
Additionally, Biden administration officials are contemplating sanctions on ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., China's prominent memory chip manufacturer.
"Adding more Chinese companies to the US Entity List is a highly likely event. It is easy to implement and justify, and it will further block certain key Chinese companies from being able to exploit current loopholes in export restrictions," global brokerage firm Jefferies analyst Edison Lee commented on the situation following the identification of ChangXin as a potential target.
The prospect of such sanctions underscores the intensifying geopolitical dynamics surrounding technological supremacy and national security concerns between the United States and China.
Source: Newsroom
