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US restrictions could hamper China’s plans for a self-reliant semiconductor sector
- Export curbs on SMIC could deal a heavy blow to China’s pursuit of an independent semiconductor sector
- Restrictions may also slow company’s development of advanced processing nodes
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The latest US restrictions on Chinese firm Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) could deal a heavy blow to China’s push for a robust home-grown semiconductor industry, analysts say.
The US government moved to impose the restrictions following a review that concluded the Shanghai-based company’s chips might be used by the Chinese military. The US commerce department told SMIC’s American suppliers on Friday to apply for a licence to sell technologies to SMIC.
“The inclusion of SMIC into a US trade blacklist would deal a heavy blow to China’s plans to develop its domestic semiconductor industry,” said Arisa Liu, an industry analyst at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
“The US is administrating a strategy of blocking key companies to force a shutdown in advanced manufacturing processes.”
Stewart Randall, head of electronics and embedded software at consultancy Intralink, said: “It limits any short or medium term capacity expansion plans. Losing support for its current equipment though means they have to work with what they have already, it could be an issue if things start breaking.”
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