Technology
The United States has added Chinese supercomputing companies to its economic blacklist.
The US Commerce Department announced on Thursday that seven Chinese supercomputing companies have been added to a US economic blacklist for assisting Chinese military efforts.
Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, National Supercomputing Center Jinan, National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, National Supercomputing Center Wuxi, and National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou have all been added to the department's blacklist. The seven were involved with building supercomputers used by China's military actors, destabilizing military modernization programs, and/or weapons of mass destruction, according to the Commerce Department.
The seven were involved with building supercomputers used by China's military actors, destabilizing military modernization projects, and/or weapons of mass destruction programs, according to the Commerce Department.
Requests for comment to the Chinese Embassy in Washington were not immediately returned.
In a statement, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, Supercomputing capabilities are critical for the advancement of many – maybe almost all – modern arms and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons.When seeking authorization to receive products from U.S. vendors, companies or those on the U.S. Entity List must apply for licenses from the Commerce Department, which are subject to strict inspection.
The new regulations go into effect right away, but they don't apply to products already on their way from US suppliers.
During the administration of former US President Donald Trump, the US added hundreds of Chinese companies to its economic blacklist, including Huawei Technologies, SMIC, and SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd, the country's largest drone manufacturer.
