The US blocking China’s access to semiconductor technologies

The Biden Administration’s announcement on new export controls restricting access to semiconductor technologies and personnel represents a watershed moment in US-China trade. The Biden Administration is clamping down on China’s access to semiconductors, reports the New York Times, and in doing so, may be choking off China’s abilities to shape artificial intelligence, according to an in depth analysis from Gregory C. Allen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The US is dramatically expanding the scope of its export controls, per Edward Alden in Foreign Policy.

American firms could lose out while Chinese companies elude some bans, reports Scott Foster in Asia Times, though, the new rules could be very bad for both American and Chinese firms, according to Paul Triolo and Kendra Schaefer, writing for the China Project. The new rules bar American citizens from aiding Chinese semiconductor development, stranding some tech executives, reports Nikkei Asia.

The new rules are just the latest in a series of actions taken by the Biden Administration to restrict Chinese access to cutting-edge technologies, says Reva Goujon of the Rhodium Group. The Wire China has a useful summary of the complexities of the semiconductor supply chain.

Mentioned publications