The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden said Thursday it will add to its trade blacklist Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., its base in Japan and more than 30 companies in China, citing national security risks.
The planned action, which will effectively bar U.S. companies from selling technology to the listed companies, reflects the intensifying competition between the United States and China in the high-tech sector.
In October, the United States tightened export controls to restrict China's ability to access certain high-end chips that could be used by Beijing to produce advanced military systems. China has reacted by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization over what it views as "trade protectionism."
Concern over flash memory maker YMTC has been growing in the United States, with some media reports alleging it has supplied chips to Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., which is already facing U.S. export restrictions.
YMTC and Yangtze Memory Technologies (Japan) Inc. are among companies that are "posing a significant risk of becoming involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," the U.S. Commerce Department said.
The department also said its latest decision was based on information indicating that YMTC and its Japan unit present "a risk of diversion to parties on the Entity List," which already includes Huawei.
U.S. exporters are required to apply for licenses to sell to companies on the Entity List. Such applications will be reviewed under a "presumption of denial" policy, meaning permission will generally be refused.
Chinese artificial intelligence chip research and development, manufacturing and sales entities, which the Commerce Department alleges are or are closely linked to state organizations that support China's military and defense industry, were also added to the list.
