U.S. caution against Chinese tech firms was re-emphasized on Friday when the Department of Commerce sent a letter to companies in the states telling them they must obtain a license before exporting certain goods to China's largest chipmaker amid concerns exist with regard to the military use of technology.
The Commerce Department said in the letter that exports to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation "could pose an unacceptable risk of diversion to a military end-use in the People's Republic of China," according to a New York Times report on Saturday.
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Last year, the US put restrictions on companies selling devices to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, amid concerns about Huawei's relationship with the Chinese government and fear that their devices could be used to spy on other countries and companies.
The popular video app TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is currently facing a potential ban in the US amid fears that the user data it collects could be passed on to the Chinese communist government. Both Huawei and ByteDance have identified such concerns as unfounded.
The Times notes that while SMIC is China's most technologically advanced semiconductor manufacturer, it lags years behind the industry's leading chip makers and cannot make chips that support the most advanced applications. And for the processors it makes, it relies on equipment and software from American companies, according to the Times.
When asked about the Commerce Department's letter and the new export restrictions, a spokesman for the Department of Commerce's Industry and Security Bureau said in a statement to CNET that the BIS "cannot comment on any specific issue".
The BIS "is constantly monitoring and assessing potential threats to national security and US foreign policy interests," added the spokesman, and "will work with its interagency partners to take appropriate action when warranted."
SMIC did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment, but a spokeswoman for the company told the Times that SMIC makes chips for commercial and civilian purposes only and has no relationship with China's armed forces.
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