Chinese Government Funding

Is BIS Edging Closer to Putting YMTC on the Entity List?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Is BIS Edging Closer to Putting YMTC on the Entity List? The Information reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce is weighing restrictions on the sale of semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) to YMTC, China’s national champion semiconductor manufacturer known to have close ties with the Chinese military. These restrictions, which would also reportedly apply to other state-backed firms such as Hua Hong Semiconductor and ChangXin Memory Technologies, would deal a blow to YMTC’s ability to produce chips, and secure a victory for American national security. The rules, which reportedly take months to develop, would echo the decision the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) made in 2020 to place China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation on the Entity List… Read More

Lenovo to Benefit from the PRC’s Indigenous Tech Ultimatum. Will Democratic Countries Respond?  

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Early this morning, Bloomberg reported, “China has ordered central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives.” The directive, claims Bloomberg, is consistent with China’s “sweeping effort to reduce its dependence on geopolitical rivals such as the U.S. for everything from semiconductors to servers and phones.” Lenovo Consolidates Chinese Market and Continues to Sell to States – Despite Military Bans   Lenovo, the global PC manufacturer partly owned/controlled by the Chinese government, will profit most from the ban as the central government replaces 50+ million PCs, with many more sales to come from provincial governments. Ironically, the Bloomberg report speculated that Beijing is concerned about security, yet the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and… Read More

U.S. Sanctions Set to Bite Hikvision – But Bigger China Tech Threats Like YTMC Still Loom

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The Financial Times reports that the U.S. government is preparing to sanction Hikvision, the Chinese surveillance technology giant. If enacted, these sanctions would cause an untold number of companies and foreign governments to run the risk of being sanctioned themselves, should they continue to use Hikvision equipment. There will be no choice but for companies and governments to rip and replace Hikvision technologies. This news of potential U.S. government action is certainly welcome. Not only could it help to stifle the Chinese government’s campaign of surreptitiously gathering mass quantities of data on the world’s citizens, but given that Hikvision has been known to put storage particles from YMTC in its gear, it could also  impact the chipmaker with deep ties… Read More

PLA in Your iPhone? CTT Launches New Site on the Implications of Apple’s Negotiations with Chinese “National Champion” YMTC

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Late last month a report surfaced that Apple is in talks with China’s “national champion” semiconductor maker, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC), to provide chips for its next iPhone. This week, China Tech Threat (CTT) is launching a new site to track Apple’s negotiations with YMTC, what’s at stake for the U.S. from national security and economic standpoints, and how policymakers and experts are reacting. “Apple is the most valuable brand in the world, and the choices it makes send important signals,” Dr. Roslyn Layton explained. “Apple’s partnership with YMTC would put the Chinese military in the iPhone, one of the most popular devices in the world. This deal would threaten Americans’ privacy and security, undermine semiconductor jobs in democratic… Read More

Apple Reportedly Considering Sourcing Chips for Next iPhone from China’s “National Champion”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, is considering sourcing memory chips for its iPhone 14 from Yangtze Memory Technologies Company (YMTC), according to a recently uncovered Credit Suisse report. The report, which was obtained by industry news outlet Light Reading, states that “YMTC could start supplying memory for new iPhone models in 2022.” Noting that Apple began adapting the design of NAND controllers last year to support YMTC chips, the report predicts that the company’s decision will be made within the next two months. “YMTC’s presence in the best-selling smartphone would look about as welcome as a Gazprom pipeline through Germany does to opponents of Russia,” Light Reading editor Iain Morris adds. U.S. experts and policymakers have cautioned that YMTC,… Read More

Hiring! U.S. Semiconductor Toolmaker Seeks Engineer to Support Chinese “National Champion”

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Three years after Lam Research opened a training center in China to provide customers with “technical guidance and training,” the American semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) maker is seeking an engineer dedicated to supporting Yangtze Memory Technologies Company (YMTC). YMTC, a Chinese “state champion” chipmaker, has emerged as a key player in the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) bid to dominate the memory market. The White House’s supply chain review report last year notes that YMTC has received an estimated $24 billion in government subsidies and represents a “potential low-cost threat to U.S.-based memory companies.” Last year James Mulvenon, Director of Intelligence Integration for SOS International, issued a report that details the PRC’s use of subsidies, espionage, and anticompetitive and illegal… Read More

Two New Reports Underscore Chinese Communist Party’s Drive for Global Tech Supremacy

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Both the U.S. government and independent academic researchers are telling the world what it needs to hear – China’s drive for dominance in the tech sector is a grave threat to American national security and free people everywhere. Let’s start with the newly released Director of National Intelligence’s Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) – a yearly declassified summary of the intelligence community’s findings on America’s adversaries. As page 6 of the report states: China will remain the top threat to U.S. technological competitiveness as Beijing targets key sectors and proprietary commercial and military technology from U.S. and allied companies and institutions. Beijing uses a variety of tools, from public investment to espionage to advance its technological capabilities. Beijing’s willingness to use… Read More

China Launches Agency to Recruit Foreign Chipmakers, Targets Major U.S. Companies

Posted on by China Tech Threat
The People’s Republic of China will soon launch a special organization to attract foreign semiconductor makers and investment, Asia Nikkei reported this month. The “Cross-Border Semiconductor Work Committee”—a collaboration among the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and Tsinghua University—will work to strengthen cooperation between the PRC and foreign chipmakers, with the end goal of building a self-sufficient supply chain. “The organization appears to be designed as a way to acquire advanced semiconductor technologies from the U.S., Japan, and Europe to help further this goal,” the article notes. The agency will provide funding and government support to encourage foreign semiconductor makers to set up development and manufacturing bases in China. It may also offer financial… Read More

Updated: Chinese Dronemaker DJI Obscured Chinese Government Funding Reports Show 

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In October, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr participated in a China Tech Threat panel where he announced the agency will commence a process to add Chinese dronemaker DJI to the agency’s “Covered List” of restricted equipment producers. Calling DJI a “Huawei on wings,” Carr cited the vast amounts of information collected by drones and how DJI controls about a 50 percent share of the U.S. drone market and 70 percent of the global consumer and enterprise drone market.  Since then, there has been even more action against DJI, including the U.S. Treasury adding it to the investment blacklist. Just this week, news reports revealed that DJI obscured its Chinese government funding and bicameral legislation was introduced that would require the FCC to add… Read More