[The Epoch Times, October 13, 2022](The Epoch Times reporters Li Jing and Luo Ya interviewed and reported) The U.S. government recently announced the most severe restrictions on chip exports to China. Americans working in Chinese chip-related companies may be subject to new restrictions. regulatory bondage. Some experts said that this move shows the determination of the US government to decouple from China, which will have a major impact on the development of China’s semiconductors.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Friday (October 7) a series of chip export control measures. In the future, U.S. companies will not be allowed to export advanced chips and related manufacturing equipment to China without government permission. And anywhere in the world, any related chip products manufactured using American tools or technologies will also be bound by this specification.
In addition, for the first time, the US export control to China has expanded the scope of restrictions to high-end scientific and technological personnel, including that Americans cannot support the “development” or “production” of certain high-end chips in China without a license.
Expert: U.S. government is determined to decouple from China
People familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asia that according to industry executives and public documents, a number of major chip equipment and materials companies in China were founded by Chinese-Americans with U.S. citizenship and are trying to build an independent chip in the CCP. At the core of the ecosystem, there are “hundreds” of executives and professionals who also hold U.S. citizenship.
In this regard, Lin Zongnan, former director of the Information Security Technology Research Institute at the Taiwan Information Industry Council and now a professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Taiwan University, told The Epoch Times that the extension of the U.S. restraining order to include U.S. holders of green cards shows that the U.S. government Determined to decouple from China, which will have a major impact on the development of China’s semiconductors.
“Because the CCP often uses Western civilian technology to develop its military technology. Therefore, the United States formulates such a policy from the perspective of national security. If national security is lost, the commercial interests of all companies will be virtual.” Lin Zongnan said .
For more than a decade, China has vigorously lured overseas talents with special skills and industry knowledge to return home to teach at top universities or start companies. For example, the “Thousand Talents Program” launched by the CCP in 2008 aims to attract more overseas talents to return to work in China. The United States has now begun to deal with those who participate in the CCP’s “Thousand Talents Program.”
On October 7, the U.S. government added 31 more Chinese companies, research institutions and other groups to its “unverified list.” The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced that the export control measure will limit China’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips, supercomputers, and manufacturing advanced semiconductors, which have been used by China in the past to enhance its military systems, mass destruction Weapons have even been used to violate human rights.
Su Ziyun, director of the National Defense Strategy and Resources Institute of the National Defense Security Research Institute of Taiwan, told The Epoch Times that the U.S. control of semiconductor exports to China was first proposed by the Trump administration to ensure the security of the defense supply chain, and directly pointed out that the CCP uses “Thousand Talents Program”, recruiting foreign high-end scientific and technological personnel with high salaries to develop science and technology. After Biden took office, he announced the revitalization of the industrial chain in the United States.
“That is to say, the U.S. government discovered this problem as early as five years ago, but with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. government has stepped up efforts to develop and produce certain high-end chips to the comprehensive containment of scientific and technological talents. It is equivalent to starting a scientific and technological war to comprehensively curb the CCP’s stealing technology.” Su Ziyun said.
Analysis: Taiwanese tech professionals need to rethink
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has attracted much attention. According to the statistics of TrendForce, a professional semiconductor research institute, Taiwanese manufacturers will account for 65% of the global foundry market in 2020, and TSMC alone will account for 55%.
The Taiwanese government said on Saturday (October 8) that it would abide by new U.S. measures and be wary of Taiwanese-made semiconductors being used in various weapons by the Chinese Communist Party.
Lin Zongnan introduced that the CCP has invested a considerable amount of national resources to develop the integrated circuit industry. When the US control policy was not clear, some Taiwanese technology manufacturers tried to take a share of the Chinese market and proposed that Chinese investment be banned, otherwise Taiwan semiconductors would be banned. The industry will be hit harder. Whether it is for Taiwanese or American manufacturers, there will be a certain impact.
“As the decoupling of the United States and China becomes more and more clear, I believe that the Taiwan government should also take some relevant measures, and I also call on the Taiwan government to formulate relevant plans as soon as possible.” Lin Zongnan said.
Su Ziyun said that in the economic security report previously issued by the Biden administration, it was mentioned that 3,000 semiconductor engineers in Taiwan were recruited by the CCP. It will definitely be stagnant. Therefore, these technology professionals need to rethink whether they are for a high-paying job or choose to join the democratic camp, and there is a larger industry space, I think this is very important. “
He believes that the semiconductor industry is not only a so-called geopolitical battleground, but more importantly, behind the US-China chip war is a war of democracy and authoritarianism, which is the core issue. ◇
Responsible editor: Li Qiong#