A estatal “China Academy Of Engineering Physics (CAEP)” continua using Intel processors and even NVIDIA GeForce graphics cardseven after US sanctions.
The discovery was published by the Wall Street Journal and shows that the trade blockades carried out by the US are not as efficient as expected.
CAEP has been on the US trade blacklist since 1997 because of its work developing nuclear weapons for China. However, these 26 years of blockade did not solve the problem and the institute continues to operate normally with western equipment.
To verify the use of Western equipment, the WSJ analyzed a series of works published by CAEP and found several references to these semiconductors produced by US companies.
As much as Intel and NIVIDA cannot sell their products directly to CAEP, the institute ends up buying chips and boards through common retailers such as AliExpress, Taobao and JD.com.
This basically confirms the difficulty of imposing export restrictions on US products to China. Commenting on the matter, NIVIDA said that it has no way of controlling where its products end up.
Intel has said it follows sanctions but cannot be held responsible for smuggling or other practices. Former US Department of Commerce official Kevin Wolf agrees that it is almost impossible to impose sanctions against other countries.
It’s incredibly difficult for the US to enforce restrictions when it comes to transacting abroad.
It should be remembered that the Biden government wants to prevent the export of chip production machines to China as a way to prevent the country from advancing in the sector. However, looking at the current scenario, even manufacturers believe that it is a matter of time before China dominates this market segment.