The U.S. on Tuesday added dozens of Chinese tech companies to it’s export blacklist in its first such effort under the Donald Trump administration, as it doubles down on curtailing Beijing’s artificial intelligence and advanced computing capabilities, CNBC reported.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security added 80 organizations to an “entity list,” with more than 50 from China, barring American companies from supplying to those on the list without government permits.
The companies were blacklisted for allegedly acting contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, the agency said, as part of its efforts to further restrict Beijing’s access to exascale computing tech, which can process vast amounts of data at very high speeds, such as quantum technologies.
Dozens of Chinese entities were targeted for their alleged involvement in developing advanced AI, supercomputers and high-performance AI chips for military purposes, the Commerce Department said, adding that two firms were supplying to sanctioned entities such as Huawei and its affiliated chipmaker, HiSilicon.
The Verge reported: The U.S. has added 80 organizations and companies to a trading export blacklist in an effort to prevent China from acquiring computing technology for military purposes.
The new restrictions announced by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) are the latest attempt to block foreign access to cutting-edge American chips, despite prior objections from Nvidia and semiconductor industry groups.
More than 50 of the new entities added to the list are based in China, with others located in Iran, Taiwan, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. BIS says the restrictions have been applied to entities that acted “contrary to US national security and foreign policy,” and are intended to hinder China’s ability to develop high-performance computing capabilities, quantum technologies, advanced artificial intelligence, and hypersonic weapons.
The Associated Press reported: China protested Wednesday after the U.S. added dozens of companies to its export control list, including more than 50 based in China the it says sought advanced knowhow in supercomputing, artificial intelligence and quantum technology for military purposes.
Companies from Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa and United Arab Emirates also were included in the roughly 80 companies added to the “entity list” of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
Six are subsidiaries of the Inspur Group, China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider. It was listed in the U.S. government’s entity list in 2023.
The update also includes the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, which objected vehemently.
“We are shocked that a private non-profit scientific research institution has been added to the entity list. We strongly oppose this wrong decision without any factual basis and ask the relevant U.S. departments to withdraw it,” the research institute said in a statement.