The United States can shut down any Chinese company that flouts sanctions on Russia at the click of a button. This is a stern warning from the US Department of Commerce, however, does China have any countermeasures?
U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo. (AP picture)
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in an interview with The New York Times: “The U.S. can make it impossible for SMIC or any Chinese company that continues to supply Russia with chips and other advanced technologies in defiance of U.S. sanctions. We will take ‘devastating’ action against Chinese companies trying to aid Russia.”
Since the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out last month, the United States has increased export controls and added 49 Russian companies involved in the military to the “entity list” to cut off Russia’s military, biotechnology, aerospace industries and other key semiconductors. and supply of advanced technology. According to reports, the United States has implemented new rules that require technology companies not to export semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, sensors, navigation equipment, avionics, marine equipment and aircraft components to Russia before obtaining a license from the United States.
All major chip manufacturing regions, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, are subject to these strict regulations. Bloomberg reported that U.S. officials revealed that any company that uses U.S. products and technologies is subject to the ban on Russia. In addition to SMIC, the U.S. side also named Lenovo Group and Xiaomi. “Electronic Engineering Album” reported: “After SMIC is blacklisted by the United States in 2020, it can continue to use American chip manufacturers such as Applied Materials (Applied Materials), Lam Research (Lam Research) and KLA (KLA). equipment. But SMIC does not comply with U.S. sanctions, and it may face stricter restrictions, making it harder or no longer to obtain repair parts and new equipment in the future. In addition, electronic product end suppliers such as Lenovo and Xiaomi use Intel, AMD, Qualcomm and other core chips mean that its products carry American technology and software, and the above American companies, as members of the “Semiconductor Industry Association of America” (SIA), have all joined the ranks of Russia.”
China is Russia’s main supplier of electronic products. In 2020, 70% of Russia’s supply of chips, computers and smartphones came from China. China will become Russia’s largest chip country in 2021, accounting for 33% of its annual semiconductor imports. The United States officially warned China, reminiscent of the “Toshiba Incident” in 1986, when Toshiba was the technology leader in DRAM (semiconductor memory), and its precision lathe technology was also leading. Unfortunately, the United States found out that Toshiba sold precision lathes to the Soviet Union to build low-noise submarines, which was accused of endangering American security. The United States then imposed sanctions on Toshiba: including closing Toshiba’s US factories, Toshiba products shall not be sold to the United States for 2 to 5 years, and all The United States contracted with Toshiba, levied a fine of $15 billion on Toshiba, etc.
The United States has killed many birds with one stone, defeated the rivals of the American semiconductor industry, received sky-high fines, and established national prestige. Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone will go to the US Congress to admit his mistakes and sign the “Japan-US Semiconductor Guarantee Agreement” to open up intellectual property rights and patents in the semiconductor industry. . The Toshiba incident came to an end when the United States made all the money. Will China be the next “Toshiba”?
China is the world’s largest demander of chips. In 2020, the import value is close to 380 billion US dollars, accounting for 18% of China’s total imports. The United States should consider its own market interests. However, thinking of Huawei at this moment, this company has been sanctioned to the extreme by the United States. What about Huawei’s provision of chips and other technical products to Russia?
It is reported that Huawei has several large research centers in Russia and plans to train 50,000 technical experts. According to statistics, there were about 445,000 graduates of Russian engineering universities in 2015, nearly double the number in the United States. The number of Russian electronic engineers is also considerable. The United States and the West are “driving” more scientific and technological talents to China. Our countermeasure is that China and Russia will join hands to strive for progress. It depends on how the United States teaches Chinese companies to “governance”. In a word, we don’t pick things up, and we’re not afraid of things. In the future, let’s speak with strength.
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