Chinese chipmakers urge Beijing to do more amid escalating US export controls
AS THE United States continues to tighten its controls on semiconductor exports to China, China’s chip companies are calling upon Beijing for more support and have urged both sides to enhance communication to avoid making the situation even worse, Caixin has learned.
China’s Ministry of Commerce hosted a meeting last week with key domestic semiconductor companies to discuss the impact of the restrictive measures imposed by the US and its allies, sources with knowledge of the matter told Caixin. The participating firms called on the government to take more effective measures to deal with the situation.
They also expressed hope that both sides would boost communication to avoid escalating the situation, Caixin has learned.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security in October last year issued a 139-page export control regulation, setting parameters of chip computing power, bandwidth, and process technology. Equipment which reaches those parameters is blocked from being exported to China.
The new restrictions aimed to contain Beijing’s ambitions to advance its chip industry and bolster the US’ own domestic chip production.
The US semiconductor export controls on China affect the entire supply chain from design, manufacturing and equipment to materials, with a number of firms pointing out during the meeting with the Ministry of Commerce that these measures have resulted in significant uncertainty and harm to various stages of the supply chain, Caixin has learned.
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They added that repercussions have not been limited to China, but have also adversely affected the global semiconductor industry, including players in the US. Global industry cooperation should not be blocked by political factors, they said, urging Beijing and Washington to resolve differences and concerns through consultations.
The calls come after the China Semiconductor Industry Association, which represents more than 700 Chinese chipmakers, last week said that “any damage to the current global supply chain… could create inevitable and irreparable harm to the global economy”.
In a statement released by the US Semiconductor Industry Association on Jul 17, the group called on both governments to “ease tensions and seek solutions through dialogue, not further escalation”.
The statement said that the US’ repeated steps to impose “overly broad, ambiguous, and at times unilateral restrictions risk diminishing the US semiconductor industry’s competitiveness, disrupting supply chains, causing significant market uncertainty, and prompting continued escalatory retaliation by China”. CAIXIN GLOBAL
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