The United States is planning to add Yangtze Memory Technologies and more than 30 other Chinese companies to a trade blacklist called the Entity List. This would restrict these companies from purchasing certain American components.
An “Entity List” is maintained by the U.S. Commerce Department and includes companies that are banned from buying technology from U.S. suppliers unless they obtain a special export license from the Commerce Department.
“We are building on the actions we took in October to protect U.S. national security by severely restricting . . . China’s ability to leverage artificial intelligence, advanced computing and other powerful, commercially available technologies for military modernisation and human rights abuses,” said the top commerce department official for export controls, Alan Estevez.
The move is the latest in the ongoing U.S.-China technology conflict.
In October, the U.S imposed restrictions on China’s ability to purchase chip-making equipment and semiconductors, i.ncluding Yangtze Memory and other companies. These companies were placed on the Unverified List, which means U.S. authorities cannot provide evidence that they are not supporting the Chinese military.
The companies have 60 days to prove that their businesses are not involved in activities that pose a threat to U.S. national security.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has been working with domestic companies to prevent Yangtze Memory and other firms from being added to the Entity List.
Yangtze Memory, based in Wuhan, is China’s largest 3D Nand semiconductor maker and produces memory chips used in smartphones and other computing devices, including those in competition with Samsung Electronics.
The company had been in talks with Apple to supply memory chips, but this has been put on hold.
China has criticized the U.S. actions and has filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization to overturn the trade controls, claiming they will disrupt global trade and supply chains.
China has also signaled its willingness to build better relations with South Korea, a key U.S. ally and microchip producer, as the U.S. seeks to limit Chinese access to advanced semiconductor technology.
