The Biden administration has added 36 Chinese firms, including Beijing’s largest chip makers Yangtze Memory Technologies, to its export blacklist. Representational Image/AFP.
New York: The Biden administration has added 36 Chinese firms, including Beijing’s largest chip makers Yangtze Memory Technologies, to its export blacklist. The move is seen as another escalation of the United States to block China’s access to advanced military and surveillance technology.
“We are building on the actions we took in October to protect US national security by severely restricting the PRC’s ability to leverage artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and other powerful, commercially available technologies for military modernisation and human rights abuses,” said Alan Estevez, the US Commerce Department’s industry and security undersecretary.
36 Chinese companies put on export blacklist
Some of the most notable Chinese groups that have been put in export blacklist include Wuhan-based Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, the biggest player in China’s flash memory market and a state-owned company estimated to control 5 to 6 per cent of the global NAND flash memory market.
Also, a YMTC subsidiary in Japan was included in the latest trade blacklist.
Both these companies were added to the Commerce Department’s “unverified list” in October over concerns that they could divert US technologies to previously blacklisted Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co and surveillance camera maker Hikvision.
These companies have been put on the ‘Entity List’ and are banned from conducting business transactions with US suppliers unless they receive a special export license from the US Department of Commerce.
Why US has put 36 Chinese companies to export blacklist?
Reports said that majority of the groups were added to US export blacklist for their association with the Chinese military and efforts to obtain technology to support mordernisation of China’s military. In particular, several entities were barred for their alleged involvement in China’s development of hypersonic and ballistic weapons.
Notably on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during a virtual meeting with his South Korean counterpart, called on Seoul to oppose the US chip export controls.
The Chinese commerce ministry on the same day lodged a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against US restrictions on semiconductors and other hi-tech exports to Chinese companies.
With inputs from agencies
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