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In a significant development on Tuesday, the U.S. government added numerous Chinese tech companies to its export blacklist, marking its first notable action in this domain under the Trump administration. This move underscores the ongoing efforts to restrict Beijing’s capabilities in artificial intelligence and advanced computing.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security expanded its “entity list” by adding 80 entities, with over 50 of them based in China. This new designation prohibits American businesses from selling to these firms without government authorization.
The reasons behind blacklisting these companies relate to accusations that their activities oppose U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The Commerce Department is actively working to limit Beijing’s access to advanced exascale computing technologies, which can process extensive data rapidly, as well as developments in quantum technologies.
A significant number of the targeted Chinese entities are involved in the development of advanced AI, supercomputers, and high-performance AI chips for military applications. The Commerce Department also noted that two of the blacklisted firms have ties to sanctioned companies, including Huawei and its chip manufacturing subsidiary, HiSilicon.
Additionally, the listings include 27 Chinese firms accused of procuring U.S. technologies to aid in the modernization of China’s military and seven firms implicated in advancing China’s quantum technology efforts.
The entity list also comprises six subsidiaries of Inspur Group, a Chinese cloud-computing company that faced previous sanctions under the Biden administration earlier this year.
According to Alex Capri, a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore, this expanded list reflects a growing strategy that targets third-party nations, transit routes, and intermediaries that have enabled Chinese companies to bypass existing restrictions to access U.S. strategic technologies.
Capri highlighted that U.S. officials are expected to enhance monitoring operations aimed at the illicit trade of advanced semiconductors produced by companies like Nvidia and AMD.
The freshly imposed export restrictions come at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, significantly exacerbated by the Trump administration’s increased tariff rates against China.
The rapid emergence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has facilitated the adoption of low-cost, open-source AI models within China, creating competitive pressures on U.S. firms that rely on more expensive, proprietary systems.
The Biden administration has enacted comprehensive export controls on various technological sectors, including semiconductors and supercomputers, under the controversial “small yard, high fence” policy. This framework is designed to restrict a select few technologies of significant military relevance while allowing normal economic activities in other sectors to continue.
Jeffrey I. Kessler, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, stated that this initiative serves as a robust signal that the Trump administration is committed to safeguarding U.S. technologies against misuse for applications involving high-performance computing, hypersonic missiles, military aviation training, and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that pose potential threats to national security.
Kessler also remarked that the entity list represents one of numerous effective mechanisms to identify and deter foreign adversaries aiming to exploit American technology for harmful purposes.
At this time, neither Inspur Group nor Huawei has provided comments in response to inquiries from media outlets.
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