The Pentagon on Wednesday added China’s leading memory chipmaker and prominent players in artificial intelligence (AI), energy and automobiles to a list of companies it accuses of aiding the Asian nation’s military, expanding a roster intended to warn allies against potential national security threats.
The US Department of Defense added Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (長江存儲) and facial-recognition firm Megvii Technology Ltd (曠視科技) to its so-called Section 1260H rundown. The 1260H specifically restricts access to some US defense contracts.
That list already includes major telecom and aerospace players, as well as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) — two companies at the heart of Beijing’s efforts to replace US technology.
Photo: Reuters
Included on the latest list are Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc (中微半導體設備), one of the country’s biggest suppliers of gear for chip production, and IDG Capital, a prolific private equity and venture capital investor that has backed some of the highest-profile start-ups.
The Pentagon also flagged China Three Gorges Corp (中國三峽集團), which operates clean energy projects in China and 20 other countries, and an arm of the Hesai Group (禾賽集團), which makes LiDAR or road-sensing equipment used in autonomous driving systems. Its customers include Didi Global Inc (滴滴), Pony.ai (小馬智行) and General Motors Co’s Cruise robotaxi subsidiary.
Washington already imposes export curbs and other sanctions on Huawei, SMIC and other companies on the Pentagon’s roster, as part of a broader campaign to curb the rise of a geopolitical rival it deems a threat to its security.
The US government has in past years grown increasingly concerned about what it calls China’s military-civil fusion strategy, describing that concept as regular civilian companies aiding the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in some fashion.
The role of AI in military use has also been a concern. Apart from Megvii, the Pentagon also added Yitu Technology (依圖科技) — another Chinese company that has already been sanctioned — to its 1260H list.
Asked about the move, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned the US for “unreasonably suppressing Chinese firms.”
“These US actions violate principles of market competition and international economic and trade rules,” ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said, adding it would “harm the interests of US firms and investors.”
“This will come back to bite them,” Wang said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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