The Biden administration published a set of export controls, including a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment, vastly expanding its reach in its bid to slow Beijing’s technological advances.
[FILE PHOTO] - Hi1710 BMC management chip is seen on a Kunpeng 920 chipset designed by Huawei's Hisilicon subsidiary is on display at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019.[FILE PHOTO] - Hi1710 BMC management chip is seen on a Kunpeng 920 chipset designed by Huawei's Hisilicon subsidiary is on display at Huawei's headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China May 29, 2019. Picture taken May 29, 2019.
“This will set the Chinese back years,” said Jim Lewis, a technology and cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies , a Washington D.C.-based think tank, who said the policies harken back to the tough regulations of the height of the Cold War.
The rules published on Friday also block shipments of a broad array of chips for use in Chinese supercomputing systems. The rules define a supercomputer as any system with more than 100 petaflops of computing power within a floor space of 6,400 square feet, a definition that two industry sources said could also hit some commercial data centers at Chinese tech giants.
The Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents chipmakers, said it was studying the regulations and urged the United States to “implement the rules in a targeted way – and in collaboration with international partners – to help level the playing field.”