Far from appeasing, the tension between the United States and China in the field of the semiconductor industry is increasing. However, the last blow The Asian country has just dealt it. On October 7, 2022, the US government clenched its fist to the maximum by including the entire Chinese semiconductor industry on the list that reflects the scope of its sanctions. Its purpose is to stop its development, and the most effective way to achieve this is to prevent China from accessing the most advanced lithography equipment.
Xi Jinping’s government cannot afford to lag behind and wait. He has the ability to lobby foreign semiconductor manufacturers operating within his borders, and he is doing so. In fact, last Friday, March 31, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC for its acronym in English), which is the Chinese internet regulator, launched an investigation whose purpose is to audit the largest US manufacturer of memory chips. .
Micron Technology is in the crosshairs of the Chinese government
In the statement in which it has announced the implementation of this process, the CAC defends that this investigation seeks to “safeguard the security of essential information about the infrastructure of its supply chain and prevent potential security risks caused by problematic products.” China is very clearly leveling an accusation at US memory chip maker Micron Technology that is very similar to the one the US has leveled at Huawei and other Chinese companies for the past four years.
The Chinese government suspects that Micron has exerted pressure on the US Administration to veto its Chinese competitors
The CAC suspects that the DRAM chips produced by this manufacturer may compromise the security of their nation, so it is possible that if this investigation succeeds, and it seems that it will, and Micron Technology does not go well, it could be banned in China. . For a chipmaker to be deprived of the ability to compete in a market as large as China can be a hard blow to take.
Given the circumstances, Micron Technology has had no choice but to show its willingness to collaborate with the Chinese Administration, although, apparently, this company has not always adopted a low profile. Wang Lifu, an analyst at semiconductor industry consultancy ICwise, defends that the Chinese government suspects that Micron has lobbied on the US Administration with the purpose of propitiating the implementation of sanctions against its Chinese competitors.
The outlook is not looking good for Micron Technology, which closed its Shanghai IC design center at the end of 2022 to round things off. However, this is not all. China is fighting back, and the next to fall could be chipmakers in South Korea and Japan. Wang Lifu suspects that this CAC move is also a wake-up call for Asian countries that have aligned their interests with those of the United States. It makes sense, so it wouldn’t be surprising if South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix also come under scrutiny from the CAC over the next few weeks.
Cover image: TSMC
Via: SCMP
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