2023-05-21 15:43:29
China’s cybersecurity watchdog said on Sunday that US chip maker Micron Technology had failed a national security assessment and asked operators of critical information infrastructure to stop buying its products.
The assessment is the latest escalation in the ongoing chip war between the United States and China, as Washington looks to restrict Beijing’s access to more advanced semiconductors. It also came at a time when China is tightening its enforcement of national security and anti-espionage laws.
“Micron’s products have relatively serious potential security problems in the network, which pose a significant security risk to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain and affect China’s national security,” the cybersecurity authority said in a statement.
“Operators of critical information infrastructure in China should stop buying Micron products,” she added.
Chip war
In March, Beijing launched a cybersecurity assessment of products from Micron, one of the world’s largest chipmakers.
The chip war between Beijing and Washington escalated last year, when the United States imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips, chipmaking equipment and software used to design semiconductors.
Washington justified its decision with national security concerns, and said: “It wants to prevent the Chinese armed forces and intelligence services from obtaining” sensitive technologies with military uses.
Restrictions on sales of US companies’ products
The United States imposed restrictions on the sales of the products of the relevant domestic companies abroad. It is also seeking to convince its key allies to follow suit.
In this context, the Netherlands and Japan, both leading manufacturers of specialized semiconductor technology equipment, recently announced new restrictions on the export of certain products, but they did not explicitly mention China.
Beijing criticized the restrictions, describing them as “American bullying tactics,” and accused Washington of practicing “technological terrorism,” stressing that “such restrictions will only serve to strengthen its determination to achieve self-sufficiency in the sector.”
development of the semiconductor industry
Developing a strong domestic semiconductor industry is a long-term goal of the Chinese government, which has invested billions of dollars in domestic chip companies.
Chips are the lifeblood of the modern global economy, used to power everything from cars to smartphones, and are expected to become a trillion-dollar industry globally by 2030.
The industry’s vitality is shown in China, the world’s second-largest economy, which relies on a steady supply of foreign chips to make electronics.
In 2021, China imported semiconductors worth $430 billion, which is more than it spent on importing oil. (AFP)
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