US considers sanctions against Chinese tech firms - report

Bengaluru — The US government is considering sanctions on several Chinese tech companies, including chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, in a bid to further restrain China’s development of advanced semiconductors, reported Bloomberg News.

Quoting people familiar with the matter, the agency said on Friday that the US commerce department’s bureau of industry and security was considering adding ChangXin to the “entity” list that restricts access to US technology, along with five more Chinese companies.

The department and bureau did not respond immediately to Reuters requests for comment.

ChangXin Memory Technologies said it “specialises in producing commodity DRAM memory chips for everyday consumer products, with a specific focus on civilian and commercial applications”. In a statement sent to Reuters on Sunday, the company also said it complied with US export regulations.

Reuters has reported that the US moved last year to deny American imports to a major SMIC plant after it produced the chip powering Huawei's Mate 60 Pro phone.

The efforts halted millions of dollars worth of shipments of chip-making materials and parts from at least one supplier, Entegris.

The US has moved aggressively in recent months to halt shipments to China of more advanced AI chips in an effort to stop Beijing getting cutting-edge US technologies that could strengthen its military.

Reuters