The United States is reportedly set to reveal the names of Chinese companies on its blacklist for receiving equipment from U.S. companies amid the U.S.-China chip wars.
Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce could unveil the list in the next few months.
Companies in the U.S. are restricted from sending equipment for producing advanced chips to Chinese semiconductor factories as part of an effort to curb technological and military advances in the country. But U.S. companies reportedly say it’s difficult to figure out which factories are restricted, and have asked the department for a list.
At an annual conference for export controls this week, U.S. officials addressed concerns over the list. “It’s probably not going to be an exhaustive listing, if we can do that,” an official said, according to Reuters. “But the more that we can help identify what are these facilities that we have a concern with, hopefully that’s going to help.”
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in the U.S. told Reuters that it should “stop overstretching the concept of national security and abusing the state power to suppress Chinese companies.”
Neither the Department of Commerce nor the Chinese embassy immediately responded to a request for comment.
The U.S. government is investing billions in domestic chipmaking through the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act, which passed in August 2022. Its latest investment of $8.5 billion into American semiconductor pioneer Intel is part of the chipmaker’s plan to invest $100 billion into expanding operations with plants in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon over the next five years.
“Today is a victory for Americans’ national economy, but also our national security, “ Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in an announcement for the funding at Intel’s Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona. “In the modern world, everything relies on chips. Every aspect of humanity is going digital, and relies on chips. And their production shapes the future of all of humanity.”
Gelsinger also referenced competition with China, saying the U.S. “will not surrender leadership to our competitors.”