CXMT

Should Congress Revisit, Toughen Up Section 5949 of the NDAA? A Former National Security Advisor Weighs In

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Last year, the United States took a major step toward the goal of addressing the dangers posed by Chinese semiconductor makers by adding YMTC to the Entity List. We hope this action is a marker of a new era of seriousness and action as it relates to countering Chinese chip-related threats. The bipartisan momentum must continue to build, and revising Section 5949 of the NDAA is a necessary step.   Section 5949 of the NDAA prohibits the U.S. government from procuring or using any parts, products, or services that include semiconductors manufactured by specific Chinese companies that represent security risks. Writing in the Washington Examiner recently, former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien addresses the importance of stopping Chinese chips, especially those from China’s… Read More

Biden Administration on China and Export Controls: Economic Cold War or Reflection of Reality?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
As China Tech Threat readers very well know, the Biden administration issued long-awaited export controls in October designed to restrict the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) ability to purchase or manufacture high-end chips. Some have criticized the move as “a declaration of an economic cold war.” Daleep Singh, a former Biden administration Deputy National Security Adviser, is weighing in. Singh recently wrote in The Economist that “America is simply adapting to intensified competition for pre-eminence in the foundational technologies of our time.” We agree. From both national security and economic standpoints, Chinese dominance and superiority in the semiconductor space is dangerous, and the Biden administration has taken actions to prevent that from happening. Singh also calls for the Biden administration… Read More

Japan and the Netherlands Sign on to Export Controls; Will Multilateral Momentum for Them Continue at the WTO? 

Posted on by China Tech Threat
For months the U.S. Commerce Department has exerted pressure on Japan and the Netherlands to restrict the sale of advanced chipmaking equipment to China. Now that the U.S. has issued its own tough export controls targeting the likes of “bellwether” chip companies YMTC, CXMT, and SMIC, Bloomberg reports that Japan and the Netherlands will join the U.S. in issuing restrictions of their own.  The importance of this move should not be underestimated. Bloomberg’s analysis describes the addition of Japan and the Netherlands as a “significant milestone,” adding that, “the three-country alliance would represent a near-total blockade of China’s ability to buy the equipment necessary to make leading-edge chips.” China knows these crushing blows spell doom for its domestic production of advanced chips, so… Read More

The Most Dangerous Chinese Company You Haven’t Heard Of

Posted on by China Tech Threat
While Chinese companies like Huawei and TikTok have grabbed headlines for threatening American national security and data privacy, the Chinese chipmaker CXMT is less well-known. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous. Founded in 2016, Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) was created as a “pilot demonstration” of the Made in China 2025 initiative – the Chinese government’s effort to make China the world leader in high-tech manufacturing. Like fellow would-be state champion chipmakers SMIC and YMTC, CXMT is awash in Chinese subsidies. The company’s strategy relies on IP theft to close ground against competitors.  It also has multiple business leaders also serving in important Communist Party roles and connections to the PLA. As China’s largest maker of DRAM (dynamic random-access memory)… Read More

New Forbes Column: Commerce Department Inaction on YMTC Harms Americans, Shames Sec. Raimondo

Posted on by China Tech Threat
For months China Tech Threat and other national security leaders have pressed the Commerce Department to put Chinese military-linked chipmaker YMTC on the Entity list. That move would prohibit U.S. firms from selling high-tech tools to YMTC – a much-needed step to protect Americans’ privacy and national security. Unfortunately, YMTC this week announced the ability to develop 232-layer chips, a major technological breakthrough. Any new Commerce Department export controls targeting YTMC will now be too little, too late. Forbes columnist and China Tech Threat co-founder Roslyn Layton’s new column elaborates on the problem: The Commerce Department is clearly failing on its mission to promote and protect US technologies from China. Many of its existing restrictions are not enforced, and bad… Read More