London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

US Blacklists China's Chipmaker Firm, Crackdowns On AI Chip Sector

US Blacklists China's Chipmaker Firm, Crackdowns On AI Chip Sector

YMTC, long in the crosshairs of the U.S. government, will be added to the list over fears it could divert U.S. technology to previously blacklisted Chinese tech giants Huawei and Hikvision.
The Biden administration on Thursday added Chinese memory chipmaker YMTC and 21 "major" Chinese players in the artificial intelligence chip industry to a trade blacklist, broadening its crackdown on China's chip industry.

YMTC, long in the crosshairs of the U.S. government, was added to the list over fears it could divert U.S. technology to previously blacklisted Chinese tech giants Huawei and Hikvision. The move, laid out in the Federal Register, will bar YMTC's suppliers from shipping U.S. goods to it without a difficult-to-obtain license.

The 21 Chinese AI chip entities being added to the trade blacklist, which include Cambricon Technologies Corp and CETC, face an even tougher penalty, with the U.S. government effectively blocking their access to technology made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.

As the Chinese government seeks to remove barriers between its military and civilian sectors, "U.S. national security interests require that we act decisively to deny access to advanced technologies," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Kendler said in a statement.

YMTC, Cambricon, CETC and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The move builds on sweeping export controls imposed on Beijing in October to slow Beijing's technological and military advances, including measures to curb China's access to U.S. chipmaking tools and cut it off from certain chips made anywhere in the world with U.S. equipment.

It also comes as Congress prepares to finalize legislation to bar the U.S. government from buying products that contain semiconductors made by YMTC, Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT or China's top chip manufacturer SMIC.

The Commerce Department on Thursday also targetted nine Chinese entities for allegedly seeking to support China's military modernization, including Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co Ltd (SMEE), China's only lithography company. A total of 35 Chinese entities were added to the U.S. trade blacklist, known as the entity list, as well as YMTC's Japan-based subsidiary.

Thursday's announcements weren't all bad news for Beijing. The Biden administration removed Wuxi Biologics, a company that makes ingredients for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, and 25 other Chinese entities from the so-called unverified list thanks to successful site visits.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that such a move was in the works and reported earlier this year that U.S officials were able to conduct a site visit at Wuxi Biologics.

Wuxi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Companies are added to the unverified list if the United States cannot complete on-site visits to determine if they can be trusted to receive sensitive U.S. technology exports, inspections which in China require approval from the commerce ministry.

Being added to the unverified list forces U.S. suppliers to perform greater due diligence before shipping to the targeted companies.

Commerce Department officials have attributed greater cooperation from Beijing in site checks to a new rule announced in October. Under that rule, if a government prevents U.S. officials from conducting site checks at companies on the unverified list, Washington may add them to the entity list after sixty days.

Under that new policy, the Commerce Department on Thursday removed nine Russian entities from the unverified list and added them to the entity list because the U.S. has been unable to conduct site visits.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer heralded the imposition of new penalties on YMTC.

"YMTC poses an immediate threat to our national security, so the Biden Administration needed to act swiftly to prevent YMTC from gaining even an inch of a military or economic advantage," he said in a statement.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×