London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 27, 2026

China bans chipmaker Micron from key infrastructure projects as tech row with US escalates

China bans chipmaker Micron from key infrastructure projects as tech row with US escalates

The announcement from China comes after the G7 summit in Japan over the weekend, where US President Joe Biden said the group's leaders had agreed to "de-risk and diversify our relationship with China".
Beijing has stepped up its feud with Washington after announcing products made by US memory chip giant Micron Technology pose a national security risk.

China's cyberspace regulator said on Sunday that following a review it found Micron products have unspecified "serious network security risks" that are a hazard to the country's information infrastructure.

It told users of computer equipment to stop buying products from the US company.

"The review found that Micron's products have serious network security risks, which pose significant security risks to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain, affecting China's national security," the Cyberspace Administration of China said on its website.

CAC's statement did not provide further details of the risk or which Micron products were deemed a threat.

Micron said it had received the CAC's notice of the conclusion of its review of the company's products sold in China, and looked "forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities".

The US, Europe and Japan are reducing China's access to advanced chipmaking and other technology they believe could be used in weapons.

While they have warned of unspecified consequences, Chinese officials appear to be struggling to find ways to retaliate without hurting the country's own smartphone producers and other industries.

Micron makes DRAM and NAND flash memory chips and competes with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, as well as Japan's Kioxia, a unit of Toshiba Corp.

Impact on Micron will be 'limited'

The company would experience limited impact by the latest announcement, according to Jefferies analysts, as its major customers in China are consumer electronics firms such as smartphone and computer manufacturers, not infrastructure suppliers.

"Since Micron's DRAM and NAND products are much less in servers, we believe most of its revenue in China is not generated from telcos and the government. Therefore, the ultimate impact on Micron will be quite limited," they said.

However, the company generated $5.2bn (£4.1bn) of revenue from China and Hong Kong last year, around 16% of its total revenue.

An official review of Micron under China's increasingly stringent information security laws was announced last month, hours after Japan joined Washington in imposing restrictions on Chinese access to technology to make processor chips on security grounds.

Last week, Micron announced a plan to invest up to 500 billion yen (£2.9bn) in Japan in extreme ultraviolet technology, becoming the first chipmaker to bring advanced chip manufacturing technology to the country that is now seeking to reinvigorate its chip sector.

The timing of the CAC's announcement was significant, as US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that G7 nations had agreed to "de-risk and diversify our relationship with China". They also agreed to establish an initiative to counter economic "coercion" during the summit in Hiroshima, Japan, over the weekend.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in his address at the summit that China poses the biggest challenge in the world to global security.

He said China was the "only country with both the means and intent to reshape the world order".
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
East Midlands Railway Urges Essential Travel Ahead of Bank Holiday Strikes
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Global and Energy Pressures Weigh
UK Government and Sainsbury’s Launch Plan for 10,000 Youth Work Experience Placements
Scottish Government Plans Tighter Remote-Working Rules and Possible Voluntary Redundancies
Scottish Budget Faces More Than £700 Million Reduction After Tax Revenue Adjustment
Nearly 100 Labour MPs Press Andy Burnham to Back Electoral Reform Commission
UK Energy Price Cap Rises Four Percent to £1,723 as Middle East Conflict Drives Wholesale Gas Costs
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
UK Government Demands Action Against Social Media Content Promoting Dangerous Driving
×