US blacklists 4 Chinese firms for helping military get AI chips
- The companies were added to the ‘Entity List’ for acquiring or attempting to acquire US items in support of Beijing’s military modernisation efforts
- The Commerce Department also restricted exports to 5 companies, including 2 in China, tied to drones used by Russia and Houthis
The United States is adding four Chinese companies to an export blacklist for seeking to acquire AI chips for China’s military, a US official said on Wednesday.
The companies are “involved with providing AI chips to China’s military modernisation programmes” and military intelligence users, the Commerce Department’s Kevin Kurland, an export enforcement official, said at a US Senate subcommittee hearing on strengthening export control enforcement.
The companies are among 11 additions to the Commerce Department Entity List posted by the government on Wednesday. Suppliers need licences, likely to be denied, to ship goods and technology to companies on the list.
According to the posting on the Federal Register, four Chinese entities were added for acquiring and attempting to acquire US items in support of China’s military modernisation efforts. The posting did not detail the reason.
The companies are Linkzol (Beijing) Technology Co, Xi’an Like Innovative Information Technology Co, Beijing Anwise Technology Co and Sitonholy (Tianjin) Co.