WASHINGTON: The United States is considering limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip makers in China including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd (YMTC), according to four people familiar with the matter, part of a bid to halt China's semiconductor sector advances and protect US companies.
The crackdown, if approved, would involve barring the shipment of US chipmaking equipment to factories in China that manufacture advanced NAND chips.
If US President Joe Biden's administration proceeds with the move, it could also hurt South Korean memory chip juggernauts Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Samsung has two big factories in China while SK Hynix Inc is buying Intel Corp's NAND flash memory chips manufacturing business in China.
https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2022/08/02/us-considers-crackdown-on-memory-chip-makers-in-There was an era when United States chip giant Intel had the lion’s share of the semiconductor industry.
That began to change with innovations by Asian chip companies. Taiwan and South Korea have now moved ahead of the US’s Intel. But China is still the primary target of Washington’s campaign to maintain a competitive edge in chip technology. It’s an all-out war involving poaching, espionage, and alliances.
To counter China’s advances, the US has proposed a ‘Chip 4 Alliance’, which would include South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan as a collective strategic alliance of global chip powerhouses.
US Senate also voted to advance a Bill that would provide $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers and maintain its competitive edge over China.
South Korea-based Samsung started mass-producing 3-nm chips on 30 June, a significant chip design advancement. But the meeting between Chinese ambassador Xing Haiming and Samsung executive-turned-lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, who has advocated for Seoul to join the chip alliance, suggests China is trying t
o dissuade South Korea from joining the alliance. Seoul itself is reluctant because it is concerned about Samsung’s ability to work with China.Meanwhile, New Delhi is trying to lure semiconductor companies to manufacture their key components in India. Even if Indian companies make a foray into chip manufacturing, New Delhi will need to develop institutional systems that thwart industrial espionage and make India a promising destination for chip companies and talent.
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