Washington, Dec 3 (EFE).- The United States on Monday announced new technological restrictions on China with the aim of curbing its ability to develop advanced memory chips that can be used in the development of military equipment and artificial intelligence applications.
As part of these measures, 140 Chinese companies will be practically prohibited from exporting certain chips and machinery to the US via their inclusion in the Entity List, a blacklist that requires American companies and those from other countries to request export licenses that are almost impossible to obtain.
This is the third major package of restrictions announced by US President Joe Biden’s istration in the last three years and, like the others, has been designed to limit China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors, essential for the development of military artificial intelligence and other applications.
In a call with reporters on Sunday before the official announcement, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo called the measures “the strongest controls ever enacted by the US to degrade the People’s Republic of China’s ability to make the most advanced chips that they’re using in their military modernization.”
The Biden istration has repeatedly said in recent years that US’ security could be jeopardized if China succeeds in producing these extremely advanced chips.
These components are critical to operating artificial intelligence systems and supercomputers that can be used in cyberattacks, new weapon designs, and surveillance systems.
Companies affected by the new curbs include Shenzhen Pensun Technology Co., which collaborates with Chinese tech giant Huawei, as well as major Chinese chip tool makers such as Piotech, ACM Research, and SiCarrier Technology.
Specifically, the new rules restrict the export of 24 types of chip manufacturing tools that were previously unregulated.
A novel aspect of this package is the application, in many cases, of the Foreign Direct Product rule (FDPR), which affects non-US companies that use chips manufactured with US technology in their tools.
This specific rule seeks to limit what companies from other countries, as well as US companies operating in overseas facilities, can send to China.
Japan and the Netherlands will be exempt from these restrictions, according to the Financial Times.
Both countries, along with the US, dominate the production of advanced equipment for chip manufacturing and will be free to set their own rules.
China’s ministry of commerce slammed the US export control measures, calling them a “typical act of economic coercion.”
“China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” a ministry spokesperson told reporters late Monday.
“The abuse of control measures by the United States has seriously hindered the normal economic and trade exchanges among countries, seriously undermined market rules and the international economic and trade order, and seriously threatened the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain,” the spokesperson added.
“The US says one thing and does another, constantly generalizing the concept of national security, abusing export control measures, and implementing unilateral bullying. China firmly opposes this,” according to the spokesperson, who stressed that “the global semiconductor industry, including American companies, has been seriously affected.”
The new package of restrictions comes just weeks before Joe Biden is replaced on Jan. 20, 2025, by Donald Trump, who is expected to maintain many of Biden’s tough policies towards China in the technological field. EFE
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