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
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Rick Cassidy, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC, 台積電) US subsidiary, TSMC Arizona Corp, plans to retire, but the company has yet to name a successor. After Cassidy made his intention to retire known, TSMC Arizona held a special general meeting and approved a resolution that Cassidy would not continue as chairman and would not remain as a director, TSMC said in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last night. The meeting also approved a plan to appoint TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares as a director, the company said, adding that Cassidy has been named as an advisor
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
RSS