US vs China chip war heats up: The US to release list of blacklisted Chinese chip factories

The United States is reportedly in the process of compiling a list of advanced Chinese semiconductor manufacturing facilities prohibited from accessing crucial equipment, according to three individuals familiar with the situation. The list is expected to be released in a couple of months.

Over the last few years, tension between the US and China have been rising with the former convinced that China will not hesitate to go out of its way to gain an edge over the US economically and politically.

As a consequence we have seen the US government blacklist Huawei and, more recently, TikTok due to their affiliations with the Chinese government.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce also instated restrictions barring American firms from supplying equipment to Chinese plants engaged in the production of cutting-edge chips. The decision was seen as a strategic move to limit Beijing's technological advances which were threatening national security.

However, tech companies in the US felt that the directive was ambiguous noting that it was difficult for them to determine which Chinese companies produced advanced chips. Consequently, they called upon the government to publish a list to guide them.

With the list now in the making, it’s clear that the government is keen on ensuring that companies comply with the laid out restrictions.

"It’s probably not going to be an exhaustive listing, if we can do that. 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 US official said at the annual export controls conference in Washington this week.

When approached for comment, the Commerce Department refrained from providing any official statement on the matter.

However, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington criticized the U.S.'s approach, accusing the government of stretching the concept of national security and misusing state power to stifle Chinese businesses.