The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the U.S. export controls are not designed to hinder China’s economic or technological advancement.
What Happened: During an interview with National Public Radio on Friday, Blinken said that the U.S. does not aim to impede China’s growth with the export controls on advanced computing chips, Reuters reported.
“I saw that Huawei just put out a new laptop that it boasted was AI capable, that uses an Intel chip,” he told NPR host Steve Inskeep while visiting Beijing. “I think it demonstrates that what we’re focused on is only the most sensitive technology that could pose a threat to our security. We’re not focused on cutting off trade, or for that matter containing or holding back China.”
Since 2022, the U.S. has imposed stringent controls on the export of computing chips to China, affecting sales from companies such as Nvidia Corp. NVDA and Advanced Micro Devices AMD. These controls followed earlier bans on chip shipments to Huawei Technologies.
Despite these restrictions, the U.S. has granted export licenses to Intel INTC and Qualcomm QCOM to continue supplying chips to Huawei. This move has been criticized by some Republican lawmakers, but Blinken pointed to it as evidence that the U.S. is not trying to hinder China’s progress.
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These export licenses were granted during the Donald Trump administration and have been maintained under President Joe Biden. However, direct competitors of these companies, such as AMD and MediaTek, have not received similar exemptions, and the reasons for this have not been explained by either administration.
Why It Matters: The U.S. and China have been engaged in a series of tensions over semiconductor export regulations, with China criticizing the U.S.’s restrictions, which have impacted exports and affected companies like Nvidia and AMD.
While the tensions are high, China remains a critical market for U.S. semiconductor firms. Companies like Intel, Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Marvell Technology have reported greater revenues from China than from the U.S. despite the export controls.
Moreover, Huawei has managed to incorporate the latest version of its made-in-China processor in its new Pura 70 series smartphones. This move has been seen as a sign that the U.S. restrictions are not significantly impacting China’s technological development.
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