The Biden administration on Friday added 31 Chinese companies, research institutes and other groups to an “unverified list,” limiting their ability to obtain certain regulated U.S. technologies.
This is the first in a series of expected actions against China aimed at stopping shipments of chips and technology that China may use.
The administration is also set to announce sweeping new limits on the sale of advanced computer chips, chip-making equipment and other products to China, sources familiar with the matter told The New York Times. .
The goal for the US government is to cripple China’s ability to access critical technologies that are needed for many products, ranging from supercomputers to weapons guidance.
Several Chinese companies faced similar restrictions during the Trump administration, which held back the progress of telecommunications giant Huawei. These restrictions would prevent companies around the world from sending products made using US technology, machinery or software to Chinese companies.
The rules are also expected to limit the sale of cutting-edge US-made tools to China’s semiconductor industry, as well as prevent the sale of US-made microchips to China’s most powerful supercomputers.according to New York Times sources.
The list of 31 Chinese entities includes major research institutions, such as divisions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd, a major memory chip maker from which Apple has considered sourcing products. for sale in China.
The United States places companies on a “unverified list” when they cannot adequately rule out the risk of the company’s products being used for purposes contrary to US national security, according to NYT.
In a review, the Biden administration has also threatened further restrictions on US sales to these 31 companies, if China does not cooperate to allow the US government to verify whether these goods end up being used by the Chinese military.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in emailed remarks that the United States was trying “to use their technological prowess as an advantage to hinder and suppress the development of emerging markets and developing countries”.
“The United States probably hopes that China and the rest of the developing world will forever remain at the bottom of the industrial chain”he added.
These new restrictions come as no surprise because in September Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, signaled that the Biden administration would take a new approach to tech regulation regarding China. Thereby, “Given the fundamental nature of certain technologies, such as advanced logic and memory chips, we need to maintain as wide a lead as possible”did he declare.