Tag: semiconductor
US to block use of Chinese semiconductor equipment
The US Congress has introduced a new act to prevent the Chinese and “other foreign entities of concern” from infiltrating the US’s domestic chipmaking industry. The bill, the Chip Equipment Quality, Usefulness, and Integrity Protection Act of 2024 (Chip EQUIP Act), follows on from the CHIPS and Science Act, enacted in 2022, which earmarked roughly $280 billion in new funding to boost US domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors. It included $39 billion in subsidies plus tax breaks for US chipmakers. However, China has recently matched this with a new $40 billion investment in its own semiconductor industry, which will heavily focus on chip manufacturing equipment. In April, Chinese tech giant Huawei announced investing in new R&D capabilities to rival US, Japanese, and Dutch firms.
China bans US semiconductors
A new bamboo curtain has fallen across China, with a reported blanket ban on US chips. The move is bad news for long-time Silicon Valley tech giant chipmaker Intel, whose Chinese sales accounted for roughly a quarter of its global revenues. Big names join Semiconductor ban But China’s retaliatory move may not only be bad news for US chip makers such as Intel and AMD but also for China’s own communications infrastructure. The order from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology includes big players China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicorn, together with other Chinese operators. All are now obliged to submit draft deadlines for the replacement of foreign microchips. It is uncertain to what extent the CCP actually believes that Intel and AMD chips are likely to have built-in spyware or anything of the sort. The ban can be seen as part of a broader strategy on the part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end its country’s long-term reliance on US technology.