Information/Technology - 29. page

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu (NASDAQ: SOHU) reported not long ago that, in advanced technology fields such as semiconductors, the United States has recently been intervening frequently in normal market competition. Biden just signed the $280 billion chip bill to restrict semiconductor giants from investing in China. Now the U.S. Department of Commerce announced new export control measures. The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an announcement stating that four “emerging and foundational technologies” were included in new export controls due to national security concerns. The four technologies are: fourth-generation semiconductor materials gallium oxide and diamond that can withstand high temperature and high voltage; ECAD software specially designed for 3nm and below chips; pressure gain combustion technology that can be used in rockets and hypersonic systems. Although BIS did not directly mention China, yet China is now one of the countries that the United States has listed under national security controls. As long as technology items are listed in the import and export control catalogue, the U.S. government will likely impose restrictions on China. This will actually lead to further decoupling between China and the US in the semiconductor field. In its announcement, BIS claimed that the inclusion of four technologies supporting the production of advanced semiconductors and gas turbine engines under export controls was the result of an agreement among the 42 participating countries of the Wassenaar Agreement at the December 2021 plenary meeting. Considering that China is increasing its investment in semiconductors, in order to maintain its own advantages, the United States is trying to hinder the development speed of China’s semiconductor industry.

Source: Sohu, August 13, 2022
https://www.sohu.com/a/576560607_115479

Global Times recently reported that two U.S. chip equipment companies confirmed that the U.S. crackdown on Chinese chips has expanded from 10 nm to 14 nm technologies. In addition, the scope of the new regulations may not be limited to China’s SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), but may also include other chip manufacturers investing and operating in China. Analysts expressed the belief that the latest move by the United States to suppress China’s chip industry may try to have a long-term impact on the Chinese chip industry, On the one hand, it will also hurt the interests of American companies. The scope of U.S. export restrictions may include other chip manufacturers operating in China, such as Taiwan’s TSMC. According to people familiar with the matter, in the past two weeks or so, all U.S. equipment makers have received letters from the Commerce Department describing the requirement. A statement released by the U.S. Department of Commerce said that the Biden administration is tightening relevant policies against China, focusing on weakening China’s efforts to produce cutting-edge chips in response to major national security risks facing the United States. In the eyes of the U.S. government, 14nm is a watershed between advanced and backward chip manufacturing processes. Since 14nm and below technologies are considered advanced, the U.S. embargo focuses on chip equipment with 14nm and below capabilities in order to achieve the purpose of containing Chinese chips and their competition. The chip industry is an industry requiring close cooperation among global industries. The suppression of China by the United States will inevitably affect the normal development of the global chip industry.

Source: Global Times, August 1, 2022
https://world.huanqiu.com/article/493RXZYbLEo